Optimization of biodiesel production from waste cooking oil by magnesium oxide nanocatalyst synthesized using coprecipitation method

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - Nanostructured magnesium oxide (MgO) catalysts were prepared by the coprecipitation method and employed for the transesterification of waste cooking...     

Bioactive principles from Cordyceps sinensis: A potent food supplement – A review

Cordyceps sinensis (CS) is a well-known entamophagus fungus, naturally distributed in the Tibetan Plateau of Asia and Himalayas. Recently this synonym is transferred to Ophiocordyceps by both scientific and non-scientific communities. It is widely used as a tonic and medicinal food in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), as it possess wonderful health benefits. To support its functional attributes, various investigations have been carried out to find out its adaptogenic, aphrodisiac, anti-oxidant, anti-aging, neuroprotective, nootropic, immunomodulatory, anti-cancer and hepatoprotective role. Its fruiting portion as well as the larvae possesses potent bio-active fractions and their composition almost found to be similar in both. The bioactive principles are nucleosides, exo-polysaccharides, sterols and, proteins, among others. Among nucleosides, adenosine and cordycepin are the major biochemical markers. Further, different types of solvent extracts and their mixtures exhibit wide range of pharmacological activities, while the water and methanol extracts with the richest sources of nucleosides and polysaccharides also show wide range of pharmacological activities. This review gives a panoramic view of potential health benefits of various classes of bio-active fractions along with the need for sustainable management of CS for human wellness.     

A New Class of Ternary Cocyclic Hadamard Codes

 We present a new construction for p-ary codes meeting the Plotkin bound, for any odd prime p, from any planar function on the additive group of GF(p ^a ). We use the Coulter-Matthews planar functions with p=3 to construct new families of ternary cocyclic codes, and compute their dimensions for a≤6. Received: May 23, 2002; revised version: March 27, 2003 Keywords: Plotkin bound, Cocyclic code, Hadamard code, Planar function.     

Probing the deterioration of 316L stainless steel welds due to ageing and creep by indentation creep tests

Authors have probed into the creep behaviour of AISI 316L stainless steel welds through the indentation creep test methodology and assessed the deterioration effects of these welds under different ageing conditions subjecting them to different test conditions. Comparison is made between the parent metal and the weld metal for integrity at different levels of ageing and test loads. It is concluded that although the aged weld's deteriorated status is not revealed at low temperature and low load test conditions, it is explicitly revealed when tested at higher temperature and higher loads. Microstructural evidences have been given by the authors and they have suggested mechanisms of creep at different test conditions.     

Isolation and identification of pelargonidin 3-glucoside in mangosteen pericarp

In the present study, we have identified pelargonidin 3-glucoside, along with two known anthocyanin; cyanidin 3-sophoroside and cyanidin 3-glucoside, from acidified, methanolic extract of mangosteen pericarp. The compounds were separated by preparative HPLC after purification by partition against ethyl acetate and Amberlite XAD-7. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), UV–Vis absorption spectra, high-resolution electrospray mass spectrometry and 1D, 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This new pigment family adds to the growing body of data supporting the use of natural colourants in food. Cyanidin 3-sophoroside was the major anthocyanin detected in large amount (76.1%), followed by cyanidin 3-glucoside (13.4%) and pelargonidin 3-glucoside (6.2%).     

Optimization of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Xanthones from Mangosteen Pericarp by Response Surface Methodology

Mangosteen fruit pericarp is one of the important sources of bioactive compound xanthone. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extraction was employed to extract xanthones from mangosteen fruit pericarp at three different levels of pressure (200–300 bar), temperature (40–60 °C) and solvent to material ratio (100–300 kg/kg). The optimal conditions for the total xanthone yield and the influence of parameters were determined by response surface methodology (RSM) using Box–Behnken design. In our study, the increase in total xanthone yield in SC-CO₂ fluid extraction depends more on the solute’s vapor effect. From response surface plots, pressure, temperature and solvent to material ratio exhibited independent and interactive effects on the extraction of xanthones. A regression equation for predicting the total xanthone yield was derived by statistical analysis, and a model with predictive ability of 0.99 was obtained. Maximum xanthone yield of 8.01% was predicted by RSM at 60 °C, 300 bar and a solvent to material ratio of 300 kg/kg while experimentally a yield of 7.56% was achieved. HPLC analysis was carried out for the optimum conditions for the identification and quantification of the xanthones. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were investigated by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the results showed that the extracts were enriched with antioxidant compound.     

Bioenergy research: a new paradigm in multidisciplinary research

The field of biology is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary and cross-cutting. This changing research atmosphere is creating the way for a new kind of enquiry that while building upon the traditional research establishment is providing a new multidisciplinary framework to more effectively address scientific grand challenges. Using the US Department of Energy sponsored BioEnergy Science Center as an example, we highlight how impactful breakthroughs in biofuel science can be achieved within a large cross-disciplinary team environment. Such transformational insights are key to furthering our understanding and in generating models, theories and processes that can be used to overcome recalcitrance of biomass for sustainable biofuel production. Multidisciplinary approaches have an increasingly greater role to play in meeting rising demands for food, fibre, energy, clean environment and good health. Discoveries achieved by diverse minds and cross-applications of tools and analytical approaches have tremendous potential to fill existing knowledge gaps, clear roadblocks and facilitate translation of basic sciences discoveries as solutions towards addressing some of the most pressing global issues.     

Synthesis and characterization of polyacrylamidegrafted sodium alginate membranes for pervaporation separation of water + isopropanol mixtures

Polyacrylamide‐grafted‐sodium alginate copolymers were prepared by persulfate‐induced radical polymerization by using polymer‐to‐monomer ratios of 2 : 1 and 1 : 1. Polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis, and viscosity. Membranes were prepared from the polymers, crosslinked with glutaraldehyde, and used in the pervaporation separation of water + isopropanol mixtures at 30°C. Equilibrium swelling experiments were performed for mixtures containing 10 to 80 mass % of water in the feed. Both the grafted copolymer membranes were ruptured while separating 10 mass % of water in the feed mixture. However, beyond 20 mass % of water in the feed mixture, flux increased with increasing grafting ratio, while selectivity decreased. Pervaporation separation experiments were carried out at 30, 40, and 50°C for 20 mass % of water in the feed mixture. By increasing the temperature, flux increased, whereas selectivity decreased. Arrhenius activation parameters for pervaporation and diffusion decreased with increasing grafting ratio of the membranes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2030–2037, 2004     

Analysis of gap-free chlorophyll-a data from MODIS in Arabian Sea,reconstructed using DINEOF

ABSTRACT

The chlorophyll-a concentration (chl-a), which is an index of phytoplankton pigment present in the oceans, is considered as a key indicator of health of marine ecosystems that could have direct effect on the human life. In this study, spatial and temporal variability of chl-a in the Arabian Sea (AS) is examined using reconstructed cloud-free ocean colour data for the period 2002–2015. Data Interpolating Empirical Orthogonal Function method is used to reconstruct the missing data. Subsequently, wavelet analysis is applied on the reconstructed data to assess the temporal variability in terms of seasonal, intra-seasonal, and interannual variability of chl-a in the AS. Wavelet analysis clearly depicted the low-frequency, stationary modes or approximation levels inferring the monthly, seasonal, and annual mean of the signal, while the high-frequency, non-stationary modes indicated the local abnormalities. From the analysis of gap-free data, the presence of biennial mode of variability in the northern AS chl-a is observed. The analysis further showed the existence of intra-seasonal oscillations in the northern AS during summer monsoon and single dominant peak during winter monsoon. Chl-a appeared to decline slightly during the entire study period across all the selected regions of the AS. Also, it is observed that chl-a in the northwestern region is highly dynamic than in the other regions of the AS.