Optimizing the Extraction of Procyanidins Oligomers through Decamer

The extraction of procyanidins from a food is influenced by food matrix, extraction solvent, sample particle size, sample to solvent ratio, as well as other factors. Many of these parameters can easily be controlled in a laboratory to improve or target the extraction of low or high molecular weight oligomers. As various oligomers have differing biological and functional qualities, preferred extraction of one group of oligomers may be a desired target. In the following study, we describe the influence of solvent polarity and composition, solvent-solute ratio and particle size on the extraction of procyanidin oligomers monomer through decamer. The solvents evaluated included dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), acetone and methanol

Surface Operators in N=2 Abelian Gauge Theory

We generalise the analysis in [arXiv:0904.1744] to superspace, and explicitly prove that for any embedding of surface operators in a general, twisted N=2 pure abelian theory on an arbitrary four-manifold, the parameters transform naturally under the SL(2,Z) duality of the theory. However, for nontrivially-embedded surface operators, exact S-duality holds if and only if the "quantum" parameter effectively vanishes, while the overall SL(2,Z) duality holds up to a c-number at most, regardless. Nevertheless, this observation sets the stage for a physical proof of a remarkable mathematical result by Kronheimer and Mrowka--that expresses a "ramified" analog of the Donaldson invariants solely in terms of the ordinary Donaldson invariants--which, will appear, among other things, in forthcoming work. As a prelude to that, the effective interaction on the corresponding u-plane will be computed. In addition, the dependence on second Stiefel-Whitney classes and the appearance of a Spin^c structure in the associated low-energy Seiberg-Witten theory with surface operators, will also be demonstrated. In the process, we will stumble upon an interesting phase factor that is otherwise absent in the "unramified" case.Comment: 46 pages. Minor refinemen

The significance of sample mass in the analysis of steroid estrogens in sewage sludges and the derivation of partition coefficients in wastewaters

Optimization of an analytical method for determination of steroid estrogens, through minimizing sample size, resulted in recoveries >84%, with relative standard deviations <3% and demonstrated the significance of sample size on method performance. Limits of detection were 2.1–5.3 ng/g. Primary sludges had estrogen concentrations of up to one order of magnitude less than those found in biological sludges (up to 994 ng/g). However, partition coefficients were higher in primary sludges (except estriol), with the most hydrophobic compound (ethinylestradiol) exhibiting the highest Kp value, information which may be of value to those involved in modeling removal during wastewater treatment

Treatment and removal strategies for estrogens from wastewater

Natural and synthetic steroidal estrogens (estrone, 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol) are endocrine disrupters, that are discharged consistently from the sewage treatment works into surface waters, thereby causing endocrine disrupting effects to aquatic organisms at trace concentrations (nanogram per litre). Several years of research have been focused on their fate, behaviour and removal in the environment but primarily in the sewage treatment works which acts as a sink for these compounds. This review attempts to summarize the factors involved in the removal of these chemicals from the sewage treatment works. Biological processes, and to a limited extent physio-chemical properties, play a vital role in the endocrinal deactivation of which these compounds. The efficiency of these processes is highly dependent on operating parameters (such as sludge retention time, redox potential, etc) that govern the secondary treatment process of a functional sewage treatment works. Although advanced treatment technologies are available, cost and operational considerations do not make them a sustainable solution

Water resource problems of energy projects in the Colorado River Basin

The successful development of western coal and oil shale deposits is dependent, to a significant degree, on the availability of adequate water supplies. EQL is involved in a study of the aggregate effects of various energy activities in the upper Colorado River Basin on downstream water quantity and quality. These activities will tend to reduce the available water in the river, and could increase its salinity, which is already so high as to interfere with downstream domestic and agricultural use

Does the Internet improve business? An empirical inquiry into the perceived strategic value and contribution of the Internet

The Internet has become an indispensable tool for business. While it is generally presumed that the Internet can provide a competitive edge over competition, no substantive empirical evidence linking the Internet to organizational performance has been presented. This study empirically tests the connection between the use of the Internet and the perceived strategic importance of the Internet and its contribution to business using LISREL confirmatory factor analysis. The findings of this study suggest that management\u27s strategic emphasis on the Internet affect the diffusion of Internet technology in an organization and these two factors collectively improve business performance

Induction of Continuous Stimulus-Response Relations

The present research investigates the mental processes involved in inducing continuous stimulus response relations. A simple perceptual-motor learning task was used in which subjects learned to produce a continuous variable (response duration) accurately for values chosen from another continuous dimension (stimulus length). Subjects were trained on several "practice" pairs, for which they received feedback about the correct responses. Trials involving practice pairs were intermixed with trials involving "transfer" pairs, for which no feedback was given. The correct responses and stimuli were related by simple mathematical functions: a power (Experiment 1); alogarithmic (Experiment 2); and a linear function with a positive intercept (Experiment 3).Experiment 1 demonstrated that people can learn a power function rapidly and use it to perform as well for transfer pairs as for practice pairs. Experiments 2 and 3 revealed a systematic pattern of bias during early learning, consistent with the hypothesis that people have a predisposition toward inducing a power function. However, the biases decreased in magnitude with practice.We propose an account for induction of continuous stimulus-response relations called the"adaptive-regression" model. According to it, people are initially biased to induce a power function, but the bias is gradually weakened through experience, so that other stimulus-response relations can be learned with sufficient practice. The present results support the adaptive regression model