Antioxidant activities and bioactive compounds of five Jalopeno peppers (Capsicum annuum) cultivars

The present study was designed to evaluate the contents of different antioxidants compounds and their antioxidant activities in Jalopeno peppers (Capsicum annuum) cultivars (El Dorido, Grande, Tula, Sayula and El Rey) extracts. Free radical scavenging activity of Grande was recorded as high as 87% followed by El Dorido (83%). Results of reducing power (Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺) showed that Grande (0.85%) and El Dorido (0.81%) fruit extract absorbance value were close to synthetic antioxidant BHT (0. 97%) obtained at100 μg/mL. The results showed that total phenolic content of El Dorido and Grande were significantly higher compared to other Jalapeno pepper. Results indicated strong and positive correlation between antioxidant activity and carotenoids content (r = 0.75), vitamin C (r = 0.78) and total capsaicinoids (r = 0.84), respectively. The results of the antioxidant activity assays showed that the El Dorido and Grande had strongest antioxidant activity compared to other peppers cultivars in this study.     

Ergodic theory of amenable semigroup actions

In this paper, among other things, we state and prove the mean ergodic theorem for amenable semigroup algebras.     

Tough Transient Ionic Junctions Printed with Ionic Microgels

Emerging soft ionotronics better match the human body mechanically and electrically compared to conventional rigid electronics. They hold great potential for human-machine interfaces, wearable and implantable devices, and soft machines. Among various ionotronic devices, ionic junctions play critical roles in rectifying currents as electrical p–n junctions. Existing ionic junctions, however, are limited in electrical and mechanical performance, and are difficult to fabricate and degrade. Herein, the design, fabrication, and characterization of tough transient ionic junctions fabricated via 3D ionic microgel printing is reported. The 3D printing method demonstrates excellent printability and allows one to fabricate ionic junctions of various configurations with high fidelity. By combining ionic microgels, degradable networks, and highly charged biopolymers, the ionic junctions feature high stretchability (stretch limit 27), high fracture energy (>1000 Jm⁻²), excellent electrical performance (current rectification ratio >100), and transient stability (degrade in 1 week). A variety of ionotronic devices, including ionic diodes, ionic bipolar junction transistors, ionic full-wave rectifiers, and ionic touchpads are further demonstrated. This study merges ionotronics, 3D printing, and degradable hydrogels, and will motivate the future development of high-performance transient ionotronics.     

A portable positron accumulator for antihydrogen formation

A pulsed source of positrons has been developed which may be useful for antihydrogen ( ) formation because it is portable when compared to accelerator-based sources. This positron accumulator uses a Penning-style trap to collect moderated positrons from a radioactive source. The positron pulses may be emitted with repetition rates in the range of 50–1000 Hz, which is appropriate for production schemes involving laser-induced recombination. Bunching techniques may be used to vary the width of the positron pulses over the range 30–120 ns (FWHM) to match the width of the antiproton and/or laser pulses. The efficiency of the accumulator increases from ∼ 10% at 100 Hz to ∼ 50% at 1000 Hz. 250 Hz the efficiency is ∼ 25% and the accumulator has delivered up to 8 e⁺/pulse per mCi of positron activity. This translates into ∼ 1.2 × 10⁵ e⁺/pulse for a 100 Ci⁵⁸Co source.     

Visualizing defects and pore connectivity within metal–organic frameworks by X-ray transmission tomography

Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have the potential to change the landscape of molecular separations in chemical processes owing to their ability of selectively binding molecules. Their molecular sorting properties generally rely on the micro- and meso-pore structure, as well as on the presence of coordinatively unsaturated sites that interact with the different chemical species present in the feed. In this work, we show a first-of-its-kind tomographic imaging of the crystal morphology of a metal–organic framework by means of transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM), including a detailed data reconstruction and processing approach. Corroboration with Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) images shows the potential of this strategy for further (non-destructively) assessing the inner architecture of MOF crystals. By doing this, we have unraveled the presence of large voids in the internal structure of a MIL-47(V) crystal, which are typically thought of as rather homogeneous lattices. This challenges the established opinion that hydrothermal syntheses yield relatively defect-free material and sheds further light on the internal morphology of crystals.

TXM-tomography unraveled large macropore defects within a MIL-47(V) MOF crystal. These pores do not seem to be well connected and they show a preferential orientation.     

Optimization of the reflux ratio for methanol–water stage distillation column

In this paper, the enthalpy-concentration method was applied in order to model a steady-state continuous methanol–water mixture distillation column. This work includes three steps; first, to develop a code in MATLAB v.7.6 to apply to the mathematical model of the column. The second step is to simulate the column using HYSIS v.3.2. While the third is the calculation of the optimized reflux ratio to minimize the operating cost. For a distillation tower such as the methanol–water splitter in this study, there are relatively few degrees of freedom that can be manipulated in order to minimize operating costs; the reflux ratio can influence the steady-state operating point and therefore the daily costs. In this paper, we have discussed the trade-offs between reflux ratios and operating costs. A correlation is derived to define the optimum value of the reflux ratio as an exponential function of a certain economic parameter of energy prices and depreciation costs. We demonstrate that, at low energy prices or high equipment depreciation costs, the optimum reflux factor is high.     

Silica-Supported MnII Sites as Efficient Catalysts for Carbonyl Hydroboration,Hydrosilylation, and Transesterification

Manganese, the third most abundant transition-metal element after iron and titanium, has recently been demonstrated to be an effective homogeneous catalyst in numerous reactions. Herein, the preparation of silica-supported Mn^II sites is reported using Surface Organometallic Chemistry (SOMC), combined with tailored thermolytic molecular precursors approach based on Mn₂[OSi(OtBu)₃]₄ and Mn{N(SiMe₃)₂}₂⋅THF. These supported Mn^II sites, free of organic ligands, efficiently catalyze numerous reactions: hydroboration and hydrosilylation of ketones and aldehydes as well as the transesterification of industrially relevant substrates.     

聚乙烯基吡啶高氯酸盐作为高效固体酸催化剂在无溶剂条件下催化醛化学选择性制备二乙酸盐(英文)

Poly(4-vinylpyridinium) perchlorate has been used as a supported,recyclable,environmentally-benign catalyst for the formation of acylals from aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes in good to excellent yields under solvent-free conditions.Notably,the reaction conditions were tolerant of ketones.This methodology offers several distinct advantages,including its operational simplicity and high product yield,as well as being green in terms of avoiding the use of toxic catalysts and solvents.Furthermore,the catalyst can be recovered and reused several times without any loss in its activity.