This work deals with the preparation of novel photocatalysts based on the assembly of ZnO nanoparticles on the surface of sepiolite (Sep) fibrous clay mineral, which can be previously modified by ...treatment with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, tetramethoxyortosilicate or magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. The structural and morphological features of the prepared samples were characterized by diverse experimental techniques. The photoactivity of the resulting materials has been tested under solar light irradiation for the degradation of emerging pollutants, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen and antipyrine. The resulting ZnO/Sep heterostructure exhibits enhanced photocatalytic performance compared to ZnO/SiO2-Sep and ZnO/Fe3O4-Sep materials. Ibuprofen showed higher degradation rates than the other target compounds. Of particular interest is the use of ZnO/Fe3O4-Sep photocatalyst, which shows the simultaneous features of superparamagnetic character and photocatalytic activity, allowing its easy recovery by application of an external magnetic field which improves its reusability.
Display omitted
•Heterostructured materials based on the assembly of ZnO nanoparticles to sepiolite nanofibers•Heterogeneous photocatalysts for decomposition of pollutants in water•Degradation of emerging pollutants (ibuprofen, acetaminophen and antipyrine drugs) under solar light irradiation
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Research which concerns the usefulness of Probiotics show increasing interest based on the rise of their publications, products and the awareness of the public of their benefits. There is increasing ...interest concerning Probiotics from the public, researchers, governmental organizations (such as the WHO/FAO) and medicinal and food companies. Probiotics means “let good microbes work for you in different fields get their benefits and take a rest”. Such work will include, food digestion, production of useful products to destroy the bad microbes, complement the functions of the missed digestive enzymes (due to missed or defective genes), and to maintain the digestive system’s pH, and so on. Probiotics will augment the efficiency of our biological fermentors, the digestive system. Many authors have described the history and the progress of Probiotics and their different applications. In this review, we will focus mainly on three points, health improvement, infection control and disease management, which could be eliminated by the use of different types of direct uses of Probiotics or by the use of foods containing Probiotics.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Context. The direct detection and characterization of planetary and substellar companions at small angular separations is a rapidly advancing field. Dedicated high-contrast imaging instruments ...deliver unprecedented sensitivity, enabling detailed insights into the atmospheres of young low-mass companions. In addition, improvements in data reduction and point spread function (PSF)-subtraction algorithms are equally relevant for maximizing the scientific yield, both from new and archival data sets. Aims. We aim at developing a generic and modular data-reduction pipeline for processing and analysis of high-contrast imaging data obtained with pupil-stabilized observations. The package should be scalable and robust for future implementations and particularly suitable for the 3–5 μm wavelength range where typically thousands of frames have to be processed and an accurate subtraction of the thermal background emission is critical. Methods. PynPoint is written in Python 2.7 and applies various image-processing techniques, as well as statistical tools for analyzing the data, building on open-source Python packages. The current version of PynPoint has evolved from an earlier version that was developed as a PSF-subtraction tool based on principal component analysis (PCA). Results. The architecture of PynPoint has been redesigned with the core functionalities decoupled from the pipeline modules. Modules have been implemented for dedicated processing and analysis steps, including background subtraction, frame registration, PSF subtraction, photometric and astrometric measurements, and estimation of detection limits. The pipeline package enables end-to-end data reduction of pupil-stabilized data and supports classical dithering and coronagraphic data sets. As an example, we processed archival VLT/NACO L′ and M′ data of β Pic b and reassessed the brightness and position of the planet with a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis; we also provide a derivation of the photometric error budget.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
Display omitted
•Use of sepiolite fibrous clay as a nano-platform for simultaneous assembly of ZnO and magnetite nanoparticles.•ZnO/Fe3O4-sepiolite materials exhibiting photoactivity and ...superparamagnetic properties.•Heterogeneous photocatalysts for decomposition of pollutants in water showing easy recovery by means of a magnet.
Novel ternary ZnO/Fe3O4-sepiolite nanostructured materials were developed in a two-step procedure based on the incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles on a substrate composed by magnetite nanoparticles previously assembled to the sepiolite fibrous silicate (Fe3O4-sepiolite). The structural and morphological characterization shows that both, ZnO and Fe3O4 nanoparticles, were homogeneously dispersed on the surface of sepiolite. Therefore, the resulting material is characterized as a multifunctional nanoplatform simultaneously providing magnetic and photoactive properties. ZnO/Fe3O4-sepiolite materials exhibit superparamagnetic properties at room temperature, which is one of the sought properties in view to facilitate their recovery from the reaction medium after application as heterogeneous catalysts. ZnO/Fe3O4-sepiolite materials were tested as photocatalysts using methylene blue dye in water as model of a pollutant molecule, showing full decolorization after 2h of UV irradiation. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity of this nanoplataform may be maintained after reuse in several consecutive cycles of treatment. Remarkably, the ZnO/magnetite-sepiolite nanostructured material displays a similar activity as ZnO/sepiolite materials, but shows the additional advantage of easier recovery by means of a magnet which facilitates its reuse.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
It is expected that the world population will reach 9 billion by 2050. Thus, meat, dairy or plant-based protein sources will fail to meet global demand. New solutions must be offered to find ...innovative and alternative protein sources. As a natural gift, edible wild mushrooms growing in the wet and shadow places and can be picked by hand have been used as a food. From searching mushrooms in the forests and producing single cell proteins (SCP) in small scales to mega production, academia, United Nations Organizations, industries, political makers and others, play significant roles. Fermented traditional foods have also been reinvestigated. For example, kefir, miso, and tempeh, are an excellent source for fungal isolates for protein production. Fungi have unique criteria of consuming various inexpensive wastes as sources of carbon and energy for producing biomass, protein concentrate or amino acids with a minimal requirement of other environmental resources (e.g., light and water). Fungal fermented foods and SCP are consumed either intentionally or unintentionally in our daily meals and have many applications in food and feed industries. This review addresses fungi as an alternative source of edible proteins and animal feed, focusing mainly on SCP, edible mushrooms, fungal fermented foods, and the safety of their consumption.
In this work, ZnO-clay heterostructured materials have been prepared as novel nanoarchitectures by generation of ZnO nanoparticles (NP) on the surface of the clay mineral. The synthetic approach ...implies previous modification of the clay minerals by cation exchange with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) solutions. So, these organophilic solids can be easily dispersed in 2-propanol being further incorporated ZnO nanoparticles (NP), which in turn are formed from reaction of zinc acetate with KOH solution. Once this sol–gel reaction is achieved, the intermediate ZnO/clay organo-heterostructures can be submitted to a thermal treatment for the removal of the organic matter, which finally gives rise to the ZnO/clay nanoarchitectures. The resulting materials were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, UV–vis, FTIR, TG and DTA, specific surface area and porosity determinations. These techniques clearly shown the structural and textural arrangements produced during the formation of the ZnO/clay nanoarchitectures. This novel type of materials act as efficient heterogeneous photocatalysts showing higher yield in the photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue (MB) dye in water than the corresponding ZnO powder without clay prepared under similar experimental conditions.
•Assembly of ZnO nanoparticles to organoclays based on smectites and sepiolite•Novel methodology for the easy preparation of porous ZnO-clay nanoarchitectures•Heterogeneous photocatalysts for decomposition of pollutants in water
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Aims.Ground-based observations at thermal infrared wavelengths suffer from large background radiation due to the sky, telescope and warm surfaces in the instrument. This significantly limits the ...sensitivity of ground-based observations at wavelengths longer than ~3 μm. The main purpose of this work is to analyse this background emission in infrared high-contrast imaging data as illustrative of the problem, show how it can be modelled and subtracted and demonstrate that it can improve the detection of faint sources, such as exoplanets. Methods. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to model and subtract the thermal background emission in three archival high-contrast angular differential imaging datasets in the M′ and L′ filter. We used an M′ dataset of β Pic to describe in detail how the algorithm works and explain how it can be applied. The results of the background subtraction are compared to the results from a conventional mean background subtraction scheme applied to the same dataset. Finally, both methods for background subtraction are compared by performing complete data reductions. We analysed the results from the M′ dataset of HD 100546 only qualitatively. For the M′ band dataset of β Pic and the L′ band dataset of HD 169142, which was obtained with an angular groove phase mask vortex vector coronagraph, we also calculated and analysed the achieved signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Results. We show that applying PCA is an effective way to remove spatially and temporarily varying thermal background emission down to close to the background limit. The procedure also proves to be very successful at reconstructing the background that is hidden behind the point spread function. In the complete data reductions, we find at least qualitative improvements for HD 100546 and HD 169142, however, we fail to find a significant increase in S/N of β Pic b. We discuss these findings and argue that in particular datasets with strongly varying observing conditions or infrequently sampled sky background will benefit from the new approach.
Full text
Available for:
FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
A highly accurate and precise HPLC-UV method was developed for identification and quantification of gemcitabine anti-cancer drug in rat plasma. A new magnetic graphene oxide-based calixarene ...composite was developed and used as a solid phase for extraction of gemcitabine from rat plasma. Extraction efficiency has been studied by varying different experimental variables (eluent type, sorbent amount, extraction time and eluent volume etc.) and these were evaluated and optimized. Magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) conditions such as amount of solid phase, extraction solvents and their amounts, and adsorption and desorption times were optimized for getting better recoveries. Under the optimized conditions, linearity was evaluated with good correlation coefficient value R
2
(0.9993). Limit of detection (2.0 ng/mL) and limit of quantification (13.0 ng/mL) was assessed using signal-to-noise ratio method. Intraday precision RSD values of gemcitabine (GEM) were found to be less than 4.6% and interday precision values are less than 6.8%. The results obtained during the robustness study were RSD values between 1.2 and 4.6%; these results indicate that the method has effective performance and reliability. The recovery percentages of gemcitabine at three QC level concentrations were obtained in the range from 97.6 to 100.2%.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
This work deals with the preparation of novel photocatalysts based on the assembly of ZnO nanoparticles on the surface of sepiolite (Sep) fibrous clay mineral, which can be previously modified by ...treatment with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, tetramethoxyortosilicate or magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. The structural and morphological features of the prepared samples were characterized by diverse experimental techniques. The photoactivity of the resulting materials has been tested under solar light irradiation for the degradation of emerging pollutants, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen and antipyrine. The resulting ZnO/Sep heterostructure exhibits enhanced photocatalytic performance compared to ZnO/SiO2-Sep and ZnO/Fe3O4-Sep materials. Ibuprofen showed higher degradation rates than the other target compounds. Of particular interest is the use of ZnO/Fe3O4-Sep photocatalyst, which shows the simultaneous features of superparamagnetic character and photocatalytic activity, allowing its easy recovery by application of an external magnetic field which improves its reusability.
Display omitted
•Heterostructured materials based on the assembly of ZnO nanoparticles to sepiolite nanofibers.•Heterogeneous photocatalysts for decomposition of pollutants in water.•Degradation of emerging pollutants (ibuprofen, acetaminophen and antipyrine drugs) under solar light irradiation.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
PDF
