good drying

In this study, the moisture and biogenic element quantities of most wild and cultivated edible dried fruits were investigated. Macroelements found in highest amounts in fruits were K, P, Ca, and Mg. While K quantities of the fruits are recorded between 5212.77 ("white myrtle") and 25550.60 mg/kg ("black nightshade"), P amounts of the fruits were characterized to be between 949.08 (black myrtle) and 4420.75 mg/kg ("black nightshade"). Ca and Mg amounts of the fruits were assessed to be between 359...

Open experiments are an effective means of cultivating top-notch innovative talents. Based on student interests, research hotspots and our laboratory conditions, an experimental scheme was designed. In this experiment, polyethyleneimine modified carbon dots (PEI-CDs) were prepared via a one-step hydrothermal method using citric acid (CA) as the carbon source and PEI as the surface passivator. First, CA and PEI were completely dissolved in 0.1 mol/L HCl and transferred into an autoclave. The autoclave was heated to 130 ℃ for 2 h...

Novel thermal characteristics of drying banana slices in an indirect dryer are presented for four different experimental drying conditions in the forced convection mode. The novel characteristics include measuring the airflow velocity in the drying chamber, measuring the thermal profiles in different trays comprehensively and measuring the relative humidity under different conditions. Two tests are carried for 16 h in two consecutive days (8 h per day for each test). The first test is on acloudy day followed by a sunny day, while the second test is carried out on two consecutive sunny days...

Quinoa ( Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an Andean grain with a perfect nutritional composition that, by diversifying its transformation, becomes an attractive alternative for consumers looking for a high-quality, healthy diet with a source of vegetable proteins. The objective of this work was to elaborate and evaluate the technological and textural properties of quinoa paste in its entirety through the Star-Shaped Composite Central Design (CCD) of 5 process variables: Water Temperature (°C), Water Quality (ml), Mixing Time (min), Drying Temperature (°C), and Drying Time (min), with 5 levels each...

Hydrogel electrolyte can endow supercapacitors with excellent flexibility, which has developed rapidly in recent years. However, the water-rich structures of hydrogel electrolyte are easy to freeze at subfreezing and dry at high temperatures, which will affect its energy storage characteristics. The low energy density of micro supercapacitors also hinders their development. Herein, a strategy is proposed to reduce the free water activity in the hydrogel to improve the operating voltage and the energy density of the device, which is achieved through the synergistic effect of the hydrogel skeleton, N, N'-dimethylformamide (DMF), NaClO4 and water...

Skincare industries are growing rapidly around the globe but most products are formulated using synthetic chemicals and organic solvent extracted plant extracts, thus may be hazardous to the users and incur higher cost for purification that eventually leads to phytonutrient degradation. Therefore, this study aimed to formulate a stable natural formulation with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ) extracted palm-pressed fiber oil (PPFO) as an active ingredient with virgin coconut oil (VCO) as a formulation base...

With the rapid development of urbanization, the discharge of industrial wastewater has led to increasingly critical water pollution issues. Additionally, heavy metals, organic dyes, microorganisms and oil pollution often coexist and have persistence and harmfulness. Developing materials that can treat these complex pollutants simultaneously has important practical significance. In this study, a calcium alginate-based aerogel membrane (PANI@CA membrane) was prepared by spraying, polymerization, Ca2+ cross-linking and freeze-drying using aniline and sodium alginate as raw materials...

Nowadays the increasing amount of saline wastewaters has given rise to various biological desalination processes, among which the application possibilities of microalgae represents a priority research area. Next to "real" aquatic species (members of phytoplankton or phytobenthon), species from ephemeral aquatic habitats or aeroterrestrial algae also could be good candidates of research studying salt tolerance or desalination ability, since salinity stress is often referred as "physiological drought" and species from ephemeral habitats can be characterized by high drought tolerance...

There is little long-term outcome data on the efficacy of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in light chain deposition disease (LCDD). We identified 51 LCDD patients in the EBMT registry who had undergone upfront ASCT between 1995 and 2021. The median serum creatinine was 280 μmol/L and 45% required renal replacement therapy (RRT) at time of transplant. The melphalan dose was 100mg/m2 in 23%, 140mg/m2 in 55% and 200 mg/m2 in 21%. The rate of very good partial response or better improved from 41% pre-transplant to 66% at Day +100 post-ASCT...

The rice bran and rice bran wax of the KJ CMU107 rice strain were investigated as potential tablet lubricants in a directly compressed tablet formulation. Stabilized full-fatted rice bran (sFFRB), stabilized defatted rice bran (sDFRB), and rice bran wax (RBW) extracted and purified from crude rice bran oil (cRBO) were tested. Two commercial lubricants, including magnesium stearate (MGS) and hydrogenated cottonseed oil (HVO), were employed as the standards in the formulated mixtures, which contained spray-dried rice starch (SDRS) as a diluent...

A three-arm, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study was conducted to assess the impact of lyophilized pineapple extract with titrated bromelain (Brome-Inf® ) and purified bromelain on pain, swelling, trismus, and quality of life (QoL) following the surgical extraction of the mandibular third molars. Furthermore, this study examined the need for Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) by comparing their effects with a placebo group. This study enrolled 42 individuals requiring the extraction of a single mandibular third molar under local anesthesia...

Nowadays, two of the biggest obstacles restricting the further development of methanol fuel cells are excessive cost and insufficient catalytic activity of platinum-based catalysts. Herein, platinum nanoparticle supported graphene aerogel (Pt/3DGA) was successfully synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal self-assembly method. The loose three-dimensional structure of the aerogel is stabilized by a simple one-step method, which not only reduces cost compared to the freeze-drying technology, but also optimizes the loading method of nanoparticles...

This publication describes the outcome of a project to develop a replacement European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) Biological Reference Preparation (BRP) for Human tetanus immunoglobulin (TIg) as well as for the World Health Organization (WHO) International Standard (IS) for Tetanus Immunoglobulin, Human. Bulk TIg was kindly provided by a European manufacturer and was used to prepare the candidate standard. The candidate standard was freeze-dried and calibrated in an international collaborative study jointly co-ordinated by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM, Council of Europe)...

In trauma first aid, rapid hemostasis is a priority, extricating patients from hemorrhagic shock and infection risks. This paper explores novel hemostatic materials, using ion-crosslinking and freeze-drying techniques. Iterative experiments determined optimal conditions for the temperature-variable mixing-freeze-drying chemical reaction of sodium alginate (SA)/silk fibroin (SF). We used SA, SA/SF, SA/SF-TB and commercial hemostatic sponge control samples to perform hemostasis experiments on rat liver injury and femoral artery injury models, and to perform wound healing experiments on rat back full-layer skin...

Chitosan (CS) and sodium alginate (SA)-based biocomposites (CSA) were prepared with the in-situ generation of Calcium Carbonate (CSAX_Ca) through a simple, straightforward, economical, and eco-friendly procedure. Different drying conditions (X) were tested to achieve suitable structural and surface characteristics to enhance adsorption capacity: freeze-dried (L), vacuum-dried with methanol (M), and freeze-dried + vacuum-dried with methanol (LM). Temperature and adsorbent dosage effects on the adsorption capacity of Cu2+ or Pb2+ were examined...

Nowadays the significant role of biobanks in medical, diagnostic, industrial, and environmental research is well known. Bacterial biobanks could be used as a good resource for designing new treatments, biomedical and industrial researches, and laboratory diagnostics. To have a collection of bacteria from clinical samples and maintain their long-term viability, their preservation needs appropriate protective agents, like cryoprotectants and lyoprotectants. In this study, we collected and characterized Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria carrying important antibiotic resistance markers from different clinical samples of hospitalized children...

Sugar maple leaves (SML), usually considered residue plant biomass and discarded accordingly, contain a considerable amount of phenolic antioxidants. In this study, SML phenolics were extracted employing both advanced (homogenization pretreated ultrasound-assisted extraction) and conventional (maceration) methods followed by their encapsulation by freeze drying and spray drying using a combination of maltodextrin and gum arabic as coating agents. Detailed physicochemical analyses revealed that the encapsulated microparticles had high solubility (>90 %) and encapsulation efficiency (>95 %), acceptable thermal stability with good handling properties...

Poorly water-soluble drugs present a significant challenge in the development of oral solid dosage forms (OSDs). In formulation development the appropriate use of excipients to adjust solubility, and the choice of manufacturing method and pharmaceutical processes to obtain a dosage form to meet the needs of the patient group, is crucial. Preparing an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) is a well-established method for solubility enhancement, and spray drying (SD) a common manufacturing method. However, the poor flowability of spray dried materials poses a significant challenge for downstream processing...

To improve the therapeutic activity of inhaled glucocorticoids and reduce potential side effects, we designed a formulation combining the advantages of nanoparticles, which have an enhanced uptake by alveolar cells, allow targeted delivery and sustained drug release, as well as limited drug systemic passage, with those of microparticles, which display good alveolar deposition. Herein, a polymer-drug conjugate, poly(malic acid)-budesonide (PMAB), was first synthesized with either 11, 20, 33, or 43 mol% budesonide (drug:polymer from 1:8 to 3:4), the drug creating hydrophobic domains...

Studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa have yielded varying results, although authors universally agree the real burden surpasses reported cases. The primary objective of this study was to determine SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among patients attending Monkole Hospital in Kinshasa (D.R. Congo). The secondary objective was to evaluate the analytic performance of two chemiluminescence platforms: Elecsys® (Roche) and VirClia® (Vircell) on dried blood spot samples (DBS). The study population (N = 373) was recruited in two stages: a mid-2021 blood donor cohort (15...