Proximate composition and mineral profile of eight different unstudied date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) varieties from Pakistan

With the aim of extending the knowledge on chemical composition of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.), eight different sun dried date varieties; (1) Daki, (2) Aseel, (3) Coconut, (4) Khuzravi, (5) Halavi, (6) Zahidi, (7) Deglet Noor and (8) Barkavi were examined to determine their proximate composition and mineral profile. All the date varieties were found to be rich in proteins, fiber, carbohydrates and net gross energy (352.329 Kcal/100 g in Aseel to 425.147 Kcal/100 g in Khuzravi) having suitable levels of lipids and low values of ash, moisture and oxalates. Na, K and Li were found as macrominerals whereas Cr, Cu, Ca, Mg, Ni, Zn and Mn were found as microminerals. The results suggest that all the studied dates serve as good source of vital nutrients and can be considered as premium quality having significantly higher energy values than the earlier reported values for dates

The ‘common sense’ memory belief system and its implications

Memory experts, the police, and the public, completed a memory questionnaire containing a series of statements about autobiographical memory. The statements covered issues such as the nature of memory, determinants of accuracy, the relation of emotion and trauma to memory, and respondents indicated their agreement/disagreement with each of the statements. The police and public were found to share a ‘common sense’ memory belief system (CSMBS) in which memories were like videos/photographs, and accuracy was determined by the number of details recalled and also by their vividness. In direct contrast the scientific memory belief system, held by memory researchers, largely based on scientific evidence, was the opposite of the CSMBS and memories were judged to be fragmentary, number of details and their nature did not predict accuracy, and memories and their details could be in error and even false. The problematic nature of the CSBMS, which is pervasive in society, in raising the probability of flawed judgments of memory evidence is considered and, by way of illustration, applied to the (very high) attrition rate in complaints of rape

Electronic Tuning of Zinc Oxide by Direct Fabrication of Chromium (Cr) incorporated photoanodes for Visible-light driven Water Splitting Applications

This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordHerein, we report the synthesis of Cr incorporated ZnO sheets arrays microstructures and construction of photoelectrode through a direct aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) method. The as-prepared Cr incorporated ZnO microstructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, powdered X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy. The Cr incorporation in ZnO red shifted the optical band gap of as-prepared photoanodes. The 15% Cr incorporation in ZnO has shown enhanced PEC performance. The AACVD method provides an efficient in situ incorporation approach for the manipulation of morphological aspects, phase purity, and band structure of photoelectrodes for an enhanced PEC performance.Higher Education Commission of PakistanUniversity of Mancheste

Process optimization and mechanistic studies of lead (II): Aspergillus caespitosus interaction for industrial effluent treatment

The lead (II) accumulation potential of various biosorbent had been widely studied in the last few years, but an outstanding Pb(II) accumulating biomass still seems crucial for bringing the process to a successful application stage. This investigation describes the use of non-living biomass of Aspergillus caespitosus for removal of Pb from Pb(NO3)2 solution in a batch system under different experimental conditions. The highest Pb(II) sorption (351.7 ± 5.7 mg/g biomass) was observed at 600 µg/ml initial Pb concentration. Biosorption data were well defined by pseudo-second order, saturation mixed order and Langmuir isotherm models. The thermodynamic parameters: G (303 K), H and S were determined to be 4.64 kJ/mol, 75.4 kJ/mol and 26.2 J/mol-K respectively. The Pb uptake from binary solution was inhibited in the order of copper > nickel > zinc > manganese. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) characterization of Pb biosorption revealed the involvement of –SO3 and –CN groups along with other groups. The biosorbed Pb was stripped out (85.5%) using 0.01 M HCl and about 12% loss in Pb(II) sorption capacity was observed after five sorption-desorption cycles. High Pb (II) uptake (351.7 ± 5.7 mg/g biomass) by A. caespitosus proved it to be an outstanding biomaterial until now reported in literature for accumulating from solutions.Key words: Aspergillus caespitosus, Pb, Langmuir isotherm, pseudo-second-order kinetic model, FTIR, SEM, EDAX

Synthesis of N'-Substituted-2-(5-(4-Chlorophenyl)-1,3,4- oxadiazol-2-ylthio)acetohydrazide Derivatives as Suitable Antibacterial Agents

Purpose: To evaluate antibacterial activity of a series of molecules bearing 1,3,4-oxadiazole and azomethine moieties.Methods: The 4-chlorobenzoic acid (1) was precursor to N'-substituted-2-(5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,3,4- oxadiazol-2-ylthio)acetohydrazide, 8a-p, through a multistep synthesis of corresponding ester, 2, hydrazide, 3 and 1,3,4-oxadiazole, 4. The molecule, 4, was subjected to electrophilic substitution by ethyl-2-bromoacetate to yield 5 which was stepped to 2-(5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2- ylthio)acetohydrazide (6). The target molecules, 8a-p, were synthesized by nucleophilic addition of 6 to arylaldehydes, 7a-p. The proposed structures of all the synthesized molecules were elucidated by Infra Red (IR), Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR) and Electron Impact Mass Spectrometry (EIMS) spectral data. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by the principle that microbial growth is in a log phase of growth and so results in increased absorbance of broth medium which is observed.Results: The molecule, 8b, was active against S. aureus and 8c against S. typhi only. The molecule, 8p, was the most active against S. typhi with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 10.04 ± 1.25 μM while 8e was active against E. coli with MIC of 9.45 ± 1.00 μM, both relative to the reference standard, ciprofloxacin, which displayed MIC of 9.13 ± 2.00 and 8.90 ± 1.65 μM, respectively.Conclusion: Most of the synthesized molecules exhibit 50 % antibacterial activity relative to the reference. Molecules 8b and 8c are the least active compounds.Keywords: 1,3,4-Oxadiazole, 4-Chlorobenzoic acid, Antibacterial activity, Azomethin

Friction and Wear Performance Evaluation of Bio-Lubricants and DLC Coatings on Cam/Tappet Interface of Internal Combustion Engines.

The environmental concerns associated with artificially formulated engine oils have forced a shift towards bio-based lubricants. The deposition of hard coatings on engine components and migrating to environmentally friendly green lubricants can help in this regard. Chemically modified forms of vegetable oils, with better low-temperature characteristics and enhanced thermo-oxidative stability, are suitable substitutes to conventional lubricant base oils. The research presented in this manuscript was undertaken to experimentally investigate the wear and friction performance of a possible future generation of an environmentally friendly bio-based lubricant as a potential replacement for conventional engine lubricants. In order to quantify the tribological benefits which can be gained by the deposition of DLC coatings, (an (a-C:H) hydrogenated DLC coating and an (a-C:H:W) tungsten-doped DLC coating) were applied on the cam/tappet interface of a direct acting valve train assembly of an internal combustion engine. The tribological correlation between DLC-coated engine components, lubricant base oils and lubricant additives have been thoroughly investigated in this study using actual engine operating conditions. Two additive-free base oils (polyalphaolefines (PAO) and chemically-modified palm oil (TMP)) and two multi-additive-containing lubricants were used in this investigation. Real-time drive torque was measured to determine the friction force, detailed post-test analysis was performed, which involved the use of a specialized jig to measure camlobe wear. An optical profilometer was used to measure the wear on the tappet, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy was employed to study the wear mechanism and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was performed on the tested samples to qualitatively access the degradation of the coating. When using additive-free TMP, a low friction coefficient was observed for the cam/tappet interface. The presence of additives further improved the friction characteristics of TMP, resulting in reduced average friction torque values. A tremendous enhancement in wear performance was recorded with a-C:H-coated parts and the coating was able to withstand the test conditions with little or no delamination

Zinc oxide nanoparticles selectively induce apoptosis in human cancer cells through reactive oxygen species

Mohd Javed Akhtar1,2, Maqusood Ahamed3, Sudhir Kumar1, MA Majeed Khan3, Javed Ahmad4, Salman A Alrokayan31Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, India; 2Fibre Toxicology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, India; 3King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaBackground: Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have received much attention for their implications in cancer therapy. It has been reported that ZnO NPs induce selective killing of cancer cells. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms behind the anticancer response of ZnO NPs remain unclear.Methods and results: We investigated the cytotoxicity of ZnO NPs against three types of cancer cells (human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2, human lung adenocarcinoma A549, and human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B) and two primary rat cells (astrocytes and hepatocytes). Results showed that ZnO NPs exert distinct effects on mammalian cell viability via killing of all three types of cancer cells while posing no impact on normal rat astrocytes and hepatocytes. The toxicity mechanisms of ZnO NPs were further investigated using human liver cancer HepG2 cells. Both the mRNA and protein levels of tumor suppressor gene p53 and apoptotic gene bax were upregulated while the antiapoptotic gene bcl-2 was downregulated in ZnO NP-treated HepG2 cells. ZnO NPs were also found to induce activity of caspase-3 enzyme, DNA fragmentation, reactive oxygen species generation, and oxidative stress in HepG2 cells.Conclusion: Overall, our data demonstrated that ZnO NPs selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells, which is likely to be mediated by reactive oxygen species via p53 pathway, through which most of the anticancer drugs trigger apoptosis. This study provides preliminary guidance for the development of liver cancer therapy using ZnO NPs.Keywords: ZnO nanoparticles, cancer therapy, p53, apoptosis, RO

Proper Orthogonal Decomposition Closure Models For Turbulent Flows: A Numerical Comparison

This paper puts forth two new closure models for the proper orthogonal decomposition reduced-order modeling of structurally dominated turbulent flows: the dynamic subgrid-scale model and the variational multiscale model. These models, which are considered state-of-the-art in large eddy simulation, together with the mixing length and the Smagorinsky closure models, are tested in the numerical simulation of a 3D turbulent flow around a circular cylinder at Re = 1,000. Two criteria are used in judging the performance of the proper orthogonal decomposition reduced-order models: the kinetic energy spectrum and the time evolution of the POD coefficients. All the numerical results are benchmarked against a direct numerical simulation. Based on these numerical results, we conclude that the dynamic subgrid-scale and the variational multiscale models perform best.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figure