Physicochemical analysis of non-fermented probiotic milk with probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Ln1 isolated from Korea traditional fermented food

Food Science and Biotechnology - The objective of this study was to develop a non-fermented probiotic milk that maintains its physicochemical properties, microbial properties, antioxidant activity,...     

An empirical study on the synergy of multiple crossover operators

Typical evolutionary algorithms (EAs) exploit the different space-search properties of variation operators, such as crossover, mutation and local optimization. There are also various operators in each element. This paper provides an extensive empirical study on the synergy among multiple crossover operators. We choose a number of different crossover operators in an EA and investigate whether or not their combinations outperform the sole usage of the best crossover operator. The traveling salesman problem and the graph bisection problem were chosen for experimentation. Strong synergy effects were observed in both problems     

A design and analysis of objective function-based unsupervised neural networks for fuzzy clustering

Fuzzy clustering has played an important role in solving many problems. In this paper, we design an unsupervised neural network model based on a fuzzy objective function, called OFUNN. The learning rule for the OFUNN model is a result of the formal derivation by the gradient descent method of a fuzzy objective function. The performance of the cluster analysis algorithm is often evaluated by counting the number of crisp clustering errors. However, the number of clustering errors alone is not a reliable and consistent measure for the performance of clustering, especially in the case of input data with fuzzy boundaries. We introduce two measures to evaluate the performance of the fuzzy clustering algorithm. The clustering results on three data sets, Iris data and two artificial data sets, are analyzed using the proposed measures. They show that OFUNN is very competitive in terms of speed and accuracy compared to the fuzzy c-means algorithm.     

Influence of Mg Addition on the Catalytic Activity of Alumina Supported Ag for C3H6-SCR of NO

The influence of different magnesium (Mg) weight percentages (1, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10) over silver (3 wt%) impregnated alumina (SA) catalyst was investigated for the reduction of NO by C₃H₆. Mg doped SA catalysts were prepared by conventional impregnation method and characterized by XRD, BET-SA, ICP-MS, XPS, SEM, UV-DRS, H₂-TPR and O₂-TPD. The existence of MgO and MgAl₂O₄ phases on Mg doped SA catalysts were observed from XRD and XPS analyses. Existence of high percentage MgAl₂O₄ phase on 5% Mg doped SA catalyst (Mg (5) SA) enhances the dispersion and stabilization of silver phases (Ag₂O). Mg (5) SA catalyst shows a 51% of high selectivity (NO to N₂) in presence of SO₂ (80 ppm) at low temperatures (350 °C) and maintained high selectivity’s with a wide temperature window (350–500 °C). An optimal high surface availability of Ag⁰ and Ag⁺ species were observed from XPS analysis over Mg (5) SA catalyst. H₂-TPR analysis shows high temperature reduction peak over Mg (5) SA compared to SA catalyst. XPS analysis confirms the high percent availability of MgAl₂O₄ species over Mg (5) SA catalyst. DRIFTS study reveals the molecular evidences for the evolution of enolic species during NO reduction over the highly active Mg (5) SA catalyst at low temperatures. It also confirms further transformation of enolic species into –NCO species with NO + O₂ and finally into N₂ and CO₂.     

Thermal properties of Y(BH4)3 synthesized via two different methods

Y(BH₄)₃ is one of the candidates for solid-state hydrogen storage, which contains 9.06 wt% of hydrogen. In this study, the thermal properties of Y(BH₄)₃ synthesized via two different methods are extensively examined. One method relies on the solid–solid metathesis reaction between LiBH₄ and YCl₃, and the other method is the gas–solid reaction between B₂H₆ and YH₃. The two samples are studied by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and X-ray diffraction. They exhibit distinctly different polymorphic phase transformation and melting. It turns out that the side product LiCl in the metathesis reaction, which has been regarded as being inert, shifts the melting point and promotes the formation of YB₄ during decomposition. Differential scanning calorimetry and in situ X-ray diffraction data indicate that the addition of LiBH₄ to Y(BH₄)₃ induces co-melting as is found in the cases of LiBH₄–Ca(BH₄)₂ or LiBH₄–Mg(BH₄)₂. Melt infiltration of Y(BH₄)₃ into mesoporous carbon cage confirms such melting behavior.     

Aggregation-Enhanced Photoluminescence and Photoacoustics of Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters in Lipid Nanodiscs (NANO2)

The authors designed a structurally stable nano-in-nano (NANO²) system highly capable of bioimaging via an aggregation-enhanced NIR excited emission and photoacoustic response achieved based on atomically precise gold nanoclusters protected by linear thiolated ligands [Au₂₅(SC_nH_2n+1)₁₈, n  = 4–16] encapsulated in discoidal phospholipid bicelles through a one-pot synthesis. The detailed morphological characterization of NANO² is conducted using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, small/wide angle X-ray scattering with the support of molecular dynamics simulations, providing information on the location of Au nanoclusters in NANO². The photoluminescence observed for NANO² is 20–60 times more intense than that of the free Au nanoclusters, with both excitation and emission wavelengths in the near-infrared range, and the photoacoustic signal is more than tripled. The authors attribute this newly discovered aggregation-enhanced photoluminescence and photoacoustic signals to the restriction of intramolecular motion of the clusters’ ligands. With the advantages of biocompatibility and high cellular uptake, NANO² is potentially applicable for both in vitro and in vivo imaging, as the authors demonstrate with NIR excited emission from in vitro A549 human lung and the KB human cervical cancer cells.     

Synchronized Cell Cycle Arrest Promotes Osteoclast Differentiation

Osteoclast progenitors undergo cell cycle arrest before differentiation into osteoclasts, induced by exposure to macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL). The role of such cell cycle arrest in osteoclast differentiation has remained unclear, however. We here examined the effect of synchronized cell cycle arrest on osteoclast formation. Osteoclast progenitors deprived of M-CSF in culture adopted a uniform morphology and exhibited cell cycle arrest at the G₀–G₁ phase in association with both down-regulation of cyclins A and D1 as well as up-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27^Kip1. Such M-CSF deprivation also promoted the differentiation of osteoclast progenitors into multinucleated osteoclasts expressing high levels of osteoclast marker proteins such as NFATc1, c-Fos, Atp6v0d2, cathepsin K, and integrin β3 on subsequent exposure to M-CSF and RANKL. Our results suggest that synchronized arrest and reprogramming of osteoclast progenitors renders them poised to respond to inducers of osteoclast formation. Further characterization of such effects may facilitate induction of the differentiation of heterogeneous and multipotent cells into desired cell lineages.     

1D Hydrogen-Bonded Polymers Assembled by Tetraaza Macrocyclic Metal(II) Complexes and Inorganic Salts

The self-assembly of [M(L)]Cl₂·2H₂O (M = Ni²⁺ and Cu²⁺, L = 3,14-dimethyl-2,6,13,17-tetraazatricyclo[14,4,0^1.18,0^7.12]docosane) with sodium 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylate (Na₃btcb) and KNO₃ generates the 1D hydrogen-bonded polymers with formulas [Ni(L)(H₂btcb^?)₂] (1) and [Cu(L)(NO₃)₂] (2). These polymer complexes have been characterized by X-ray crystallography, spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The crystal structure of 1 shows a distorted octahedral coordination geometry around the nickel(II) ion, with the four secondary amines of the macrocycle and two carboxylate oxygen atoms of the H₂btcb^? ligand in the trans position. In 2, the coordination environment around the central copper(II) ion reveals an axially elongated octahedron with four Cu–N bonds and two oxygen atoms of the nitrate ligand in the trans position. The cyclic voltammograms of the complexes undergo two one-electron waves corresponding to M^II/M^III and M^II/M^I processes. The electronic spectra and electrochemical behavior of the complexes are significantly affected by the nature of the axial ligands.