thermal

Forecasting alterations in protein stability caused by variations holds immense importance. Improving the thermal stability of proteins is important for biomedical and industrial applications. This review discusses the latest methods for predicting the effects of mutations on protein stability, databases containing protein mutations and thermodynamic parameters, and experimental techniques for efficiently assessing protein stability in high-throughput settings. Various publicly available databases for protein stability prediction are introduced...

A new azo polymer containing photoisomerizable azo pyridine functionalities was synthesized via Mitsunobu reaction of 4-(4-hydroxyphenylazo)pyridine with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) (p(HEMA-co-MMA)) for creating new photochromic materials. The resulting polymer with azo pyridine side groups was characterized for structural, thermal, and optical properties. UV-vis, 1 H NMR and IR spectroscopies confirmed that all hydroxyl groups in p(HEMA-co-MMA) were substituted with azo dye. The obtained azo copolymer exhibited high thermal stability (around 240 °C) and a glass transition temperature (113 °C), promising for applications...

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Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acids) (PLGAs) play a critical role in the development of commercial long-acting injectable microsphere formulations. However, very little information is available describing the impact of PLGA manufacturer and monomer distribution along the polymer chain (e.g., glycolic blockiness (Rc ) and average lactic block length (LL )) on the degradation and release behavior of PLGA drug carriers in vitro and in vivo. Here, we compared the in vitro and in vivo performance of (a) four leuprolide-loaded microsphere formulations prepared from similar low-molecular-weight acid-capped PLGAs (10-14 kD, i...

We theoretically describe and experimentally demonstrate a graphene-integrated metasurface structure that enables electrically-tunable directional control of thermal emission. This device consists of a dielectric spacer that acts as a Fabry-Perot resonator supporting long-range delocalized modes bounded on one side by an electrostatically tunable metal-graphene metasurface. By varying the Fermi level of the graphene, the accumulated phase of the Fabry-Perot mode is shifted, which changes the direction of absorption and emission at a fixed frequency...

Accurately characterizing the thermomechanical parameters of nanoscale systems is essential for understanding their performance and building innovative nanoscale technologies due to their distinct behaviours. Fractional thermal transport models are commonly utilized to correctly depict the heat transfer that occurs in these nanoscale systems. The current study presents a novel mathematical thermoelastic model that incorporates a new fractional differential constitutive equation for heat conduction. This heat equation is useful for understanding the effects of thermal memory...

It is a well-known fact that interferometric fiber optic gyroscopes (IFOGs) are easily distorted by thermal effects and distortion results in the degradation of the performance of these sensors. Changing the fiber coil geometry, increasing the winding symmetry, adding fiber buffer layers around the fiber coil, using different modulation methods for multifunctional integrated optic chips, and using special types of fibers, such as photonic crystal fibers, are some alternative solutions for preventing this degradation...

In this study, a Sodium alginate-g-poly (acrylamide-clay)/TiO2 hydrogel nanocomposite [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)/TiO2 ] was synthesized using the biopolymer sodium alginate (SA), acrylamide (AM), and bentonite clay (Bn) as hybrid materials embedded with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) for the removal of toxic Congo Red (CR) dye from an aqueous solution. The [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)/TiO2 ] nanocomposite has been described on the basis of thermal stability, morphological analysis, estimation of functional group, and crystalline/amorphous character by TGA, EFSEM/EDX, TEM, FT-IR, and XRD analysis, respectively...

We report the synthesis of sulfonated copolyaniline/polysafranin/L-ascorbic acid/Ag@SiO2 fine powdered nanocomposites and investigate the influence of incorporating the dye on their conductivity. The composite was characterized via IR, UV, cyclic voltammetry (CV), electric, dielectric, SEM, TEM, TGA and DSC measurements. Microscopy images revealed intensified spherical particles that were dispersed across the entire surface, and the SiO2 /Ag particles were distributed on the surface. The XRD results exhibited peaks at many 2q values, and their interatomic spacing (d) and crystallite (grain) sizes were calculated...

A validation study was conducted to investigate the effect of the English muffin baking process to control Salmonella contamination and to study the thermal inactivation kinetic parameters (D- and z-values) of Salmonella in English muffin dough. The unbleached bread flour was inoculated with 3 serovar Salmonella cocktail (Salmonella serovars viz., Newport, Typhimurium, and Senftenberg), and dried back to its pre-inoculated water activity levels with 7.46±0.12 log CFU/g of Salmonella concentration. The Salmonella inoculated flour was used to prepare English muffin batter and baked at 204...

Volcanic islands face unique challenges in protecting and managing their water resources due to their small size, limited freshwater availability, and vulnerability to natural hazards. The recent 2021 eruption of the Tajogaite volcano on La Palma Island in the Canary Islands, Spain, raised concerns regarding the potential impact on groundwater hydrochemistry. This work aimed to characterize and model the processes that lead to the measured hydrochemical impacts in the groundwater of La Palma as a consequence of the volcanic eruption...

Solar-driven interfacial water purification emerges as a sustainable technology for seawater desalination and wastewater treatment to address the challenge of water scarcity. Currently, the energy losses via radiation and convection to surrounding environment minimize its energy efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies to minimize the heat losses for efficient water purification. Here, a novel evaporator was developed through the in situ gelation of PAM hydrogel on the surface carbonized hydroponic bamboo (PSC) to promote energy efficiency...

In future, global demand for low-cost-sustainable materials possessing good strength is going to increase tremendously, to replace synthetic plastic materials, thus motivating scientists towards green composites. The PLA has been the most promising sustainable bio composites, due to its inherent antibacterial property, biodegradability, eco-friendliness, and good thermal and mechanical characteristics. However, PLA has certain demerits such as poor water and gas barrier properties, and low glass transition temperature, which restricts its use in food packaging applications...

Lignin is an abundant natural biopolymer found in plant cell walls. Lignin can come from tinctorial plants, whose residual biomass after dye extraction was typically discarded as waste. The main objective of this study was to extract lignin from the residual biomass of Reseda luteola L. using an organosolv process and to optimize the extraction conditions. The extracted lignin was characterized, and its potential applications as an antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, and anti-UV agent were investigated. Response surface methodology based on a Box-Behnken design was employed to optimize the lignin extraction conditions (organic acid concentration, material-to-liquid ratio, extraction time)...

Our objective was to determine the impact of simultaneous removal of lactose plus low molecular weight solutes and milk serum proteins from skim milk by microfiltration (MF) on the chemical, physical and sensory properties of 3.4, 7.5, and 10.5% milk protein-based beverages before and after a direct steam injection thermal process. Skim milk was microfiltered at 50°C using 0.1 micron ceramic membranes with a diafiltration ratio of water to milk of about 2.5. Milk lactose, serum proteins, and soluble minerals were removed simultaneously to produce protein beverages containing from 3...

In countries with pasture-based dairy systems and relatively cold winters, such as New Zealand, it is common to manage pregnant, nonlactating cows on forage crop paddocks rather than pasture due to slow pasture growth rates. Wintering dairy cattle on grazed crops can compromise welfare if wet and muddy underfoot conditions occur, which can reduce lying. This study investigated behavioral and physiological indicators of welfare of cows under 2 wintering practices: cows managed on and grazed kale crop (Brassica oleracea), and cows managed on pasture with baled hay...

Tannic acid (TA) aided hydrothermal treatment (HT) can decrease effective HT temperatures for sludge deep dewatering by chelator protein, but faces notable and economic challenges including the failure to remove antibiotics and the limited protein binding capacity. Herein, hydrothermally activated TA (in situ TA + HT) was conducted to simultaneously improve sludge dewaterability and antibiotic (tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), norfloxacin (NOR), ofloxacin (OFL)) removal. Compared to traditional HT and HT + TA treatment, the in-situ TA + HT process could further strengthen the TA-aided HT efficacy in enhancing sludge and reducing the protein content in the filtrate simultaneously; in which the optimal HT temperature for the dewatering of the sludge was reduced from 180 °C to 140 °C...

This study explored the effect of diverse coagulants (glucono-δ-lactone (GDL), gypsum (GYP), microbial transglutaminase (MTGase), and white vinegar (WVG)) on microstructure, quality, and digestion properties of tofu. The four kinds of tofu were significantly different in their structure, composition, and digestibility. Tofu coagulated with MTGase had the highest springiness and cohesiveness while GDL tofu had the highest enthalpy (6.54 J/g). However, the WVG and GYP groups outperformed others in terms of thermodynamic, and digestion properties...

BACKGROUND: Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) has recently been proposed as a non-thermal energy to treat atrial fibrillation by selective ablation of ganglionated plexi (GP) embedded in epicardial fat. While some of PFA-technologies use an endocardial approach, others use epicardial access with promising pre-clinical results. However, as each technology uses a different and sometimes proprietary pulse application protocol, the comparation between endocardial vs. epicardial approach is almost impossible in experimental terms...

Persistent knee pain in patients around the fifth decade of life is a frequent cause of attention in rehabilitation consultations. The most common cause of diagnosis is knee osteoarthritis, considering the existence of different degrees seen in simple radiographies. The advanced degrees present joint space reduction, osteophytosis and subchondral sclerosis; however, in the initial degrees, the findings are more subtle and sometimes nonexistent for conventional radiology. Clinical ultrasound has partly come to fill this «diagnostic gap», making it possible to detect meniscal extrusions and small osteophytes as signs of incipient osteoarthritis and to relate them as triggers of pain...