1,366 research outputs found
Optimization of saccharification prospective from starch of sweet potato roots through acid-enzyme hydrolysis : structural, chemical and elemental profiling
The sweet potato root, a potent source of starch which is being considered as an effi cient alternative for fuel ethanol production in recent times. The starchy substrate needs to be subsequently dextrinized and saccharifi ed so as to enhance the utilization of its carbohydrates for ethanol production. In the present investigation, acid-enzyme process was conducted for the dextrinization and saccharifi cation of sweet potato root fl our (SPRF). The best optimized condition for dextrinization was achieved with an incubation period of 60 min, temperature 100 ºC and 1M HCl. However, for saccharifi cation, the best result was obtained with an incubation of 18 h, pH 4, temperature 65 ºC and 1000 U concentration of Palkodex®. After the dextrinization process, maximum concentrations of total sugar and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) [380.44 ± 3.17 g/kg and 13.28 ± 0.25 mg/g, respectively] were released. Nevertheless, after saccharifi cation, 658.80 ± 7.83 g/kg of total sugar was obtained which was about 73% more than that of dextrinization. After successful dextrinization and saccharifi cation, the structural, chemical and elemental analysis were investigated using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy-dispersive X-ray fl uorescence spectrophotometer (EDXRF), respectively. Eff ective hydrolysis was demonstrated in thin layer chromatography (TLC) where the HCl was able to generate monomeric sugar such as glucose and maltose. On the other hand, only glucose is synthesized on the mutual eff ect of HCl and Palkodex®. The SEM fi ndings indicate that the rough structure of both dextrinized and saccharifi ed sample was gained due to the vigorous eff ect of both acid and enzyme subsequently. The saccharifi ed SPRF when subjected to fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zymomonas mobilis separately, it was observed that Z. mobilis produced more stretching vibration of –OH than S. cerevisiae, which evidenced the better production of bioethanol. Additionally, evaluation of the infl uence of S. cerevisiae and Z. mobilis through elemental analysis revealed upsurge in the concentrations of S, Cl, Ca, Mn, Fe and Zn and decline in the concentrations of P, K and Cu in the fermented residue of S. cerevisiae and Z. mobilis, however, Z. mobilis showed little more variation than that of S. cerevisiae
Neural processing of criticism and positive comments from relatives in individuals with schizotypal personality traits
Objectives. High negative expressed emotion by family members towards schizophrenia patients increases the risk of subsequent relapse. The study aimed to determine whether individuals with high schizotypy (HS) and low schizotypy (LS) would differ in activation of brain areas involved in cognitive control when listening to relative criticism
Measurement of the quasi-elastic axial vector mass in neutrino-oxygen interactions
The weak nucleon axial-vector form factor for quasi-elastic interactions is
determined using neutrino interaction data from the K2K Scintillating Fiber
detector in the neutrino beam at KEK. More than 12,000 events are analyzed, of
which half are charged-current quasi-elastic interactions nu-mu n to mu- p
occurring primarily in oxygen nuclei. We use a relativistic Fermi gas model for
oxygen and assume the form factor is approximately a dipole with one parameter,
the axial vector mass M_A, and fit to the shape of the distribution of the
square of the momentum transfer from the nucleon to the nucleus. Our best fit
result for M_A = 1.20 \pm 0.12 GeV. Furthermore, this analysis includes updated
vector form factors from recent electron scattering experiments and a
discussion of the effects of the nucleon momentum on the shape of the fitted
distributions.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 6 table
Evidence for the η_b(1S) Meson in Radiative Υ(2S) Decay
We have performed a search for the η_b(1S) meson in the radiative decay of the Υ(2S) resonance using a sample of 91.6 × 10^6 Υ(2S) events recorded with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B factory at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We observe a peak in the photon energy spectrum at E_γ = 609.3^(+4.6)_(-4.5)(stat)±1.9(syst) MeV, corresponding to an η_b(1S) mass of 9394.2^(+4.8)_(-4.9)(stat) ± 2.0(syst) MeV/c^2. The branching fraction for the decay Υ(2S) → γη_b(1S) is determined to be [3.9 ± 1.1(stat)^(+1.1)_(-0.9)(syst)] × 10^(-4). We find the ratio of branching fractions B[Υ(2S) → γη_b(1S)]/B[Υ(3S) → γη_b(1S)]= 0.82 ± 0.24(stat)^(+0.20)_(-0.19)(syst)
Measurement of Branching Fraction and Dalitz Distribution for B0->D(*)+/- K0 pi-/+ Decays
We present measurements of the branching fractions for the three-body decays
B0 -> D(*)-/+ K0 pi^+/-B0 -> D(*)-/+ K*+/- using
a sample of approximately 88 million BBbar pairs collected by the BABAR
detector at the PEP-II asymmetric energy storage ring.
We measure:
B(B0->D-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(4.9 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4}
B(B0->D*-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(3.0 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4}
B(B0->D-/+ K*+/-)=(4.6 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4}
B(B0->D*-/+ K*+/-)=(3.2 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4}
From these measurements we determine the fractions of resonant events to be :
f(B0-> D-/+ K*+/-) = 0.63 +/- 0.08(stat) +/- 0.04(syst) f(B0-> D*-/+ K*+/-) =
0.72 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.05(syst)Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Search for the W-exchange decays B0 --> Ds(*)- Ds(*)+
We report a search for the decays , , in a sample of 232
million decays to \BBb ~pairs collected with the \babar detector
at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy storage ring. We find no significant
signal and set upper bounds for the branching fractions: and at 90% confidence level.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRD-R
First Observation of CP Violation in B0->D(*)CP h0 Decays by a Combined Time-Dependent Analysis of BaBar and Belle Data
We report a measurement of the time-dependent CP asymmetry of B0->D(*)CP h0
decays, where the light neutral hadron h0 is a pi0, eta or omega meson, and the
neutral D meson is reconstructed in the CP eigenstates K+ K-, K0S pi0 or K0S
omega. The measurement is performed combining the final data samples collected
at the Y(4S) resonance by the BaBar and Belle experiments at the
asymmetric-energy B factories PEP-II at SLAC and KEKB at KEK, respectively. The
data samples contain ( 471 +/- 3 ) x 10^6 BB pairs recorded by the BaBar
detector and ( 772 +/- 11 ) x 10^6, BB pairs recorded by the Belle detector. We
measure the CP asymmetry parameters -eta_f S = +0.66 +/- 0.10 (stat.) +/- 0.06
(syst.) and C = -0.02 +/- 0.07 (stat.) +/- 0.03 (syst.). These results
correspond to the first observation of CP violation in B0->D(*)CP h0 decays.
The hypothesis of no mixing-induced CP violation is excluded in these decays at
the level of 5.4 standard deviations.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Measurement of the B+ --> p pbar K+ Branching Fraction and Study of the Decay Dynamics
With a sample of 232x10^6 Upsilon(4S) --> BBbar events collected with the
BaBar detector, we study the decay B+ --> p pbar K+ excluding charmonium decays
to ppbar. We measure a branching fraction Br(B+ --> p pbar
K+)=(6.7+/-0.5+/-0.4)x10^{-6}. An enhancement at low ppbar mass is observed and
the Dalitz plot asymmetry suggests dominance of the penguin amplitude in this B
decay. We search for a pentaquark candidate Theta*++ decaying into pK+ in the
mass range 1.43 to 2.00 GeV/c2 and set limits on Br(B+ -->
Theta*++pbar)xBr(Theta*++ --> pK+) at the 10^{-7} level.Comment: 8 pages, 7 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid
Communications
Study of e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 process using initial state radiation with BABAR
The process e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 gamma has been studied at a center-of-mass
energy near the Y(4S) resonance using a 89.3 fb-1 data sample collected with
the BaBar detector at the PEP-II collider. From the measured 3pi mass spectrum
we have obtained the products of branching fractions for the omega and phi
mesons, B(omega --> e+e-)B(omega --> 3pi)=(6.70 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.27)10-5 and
B(phi --> e+e-)B(phi --> 3pi)=(4.30 +/- 0.08 +/- 0.21)10-5, and evaluated the
e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 cross section for the e+e- center-of-mass energy range
1.05 to 3.00 GeV. About 900 e+e- --> J/psi gamma --> pi+ pi- pi0 gamma events
have been selected and the branching fraction B(J/psi --> pi+ pi- pi0)=(2.18
+/- 0.19)% has been measured.Comment: 21 pages, 37 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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