Academic literature on the topic 'Alkaline-aided method'

The most expensive and principal step in the process of converting cellulosic biomass into biorenewables and biofuel is the pretreatment during which lignin and cellulose crystalline structure is broken down. In this study, TiO2nanoparticles were utilized as photocatalyst in addition to alkaline (ammonia and sodium hydrate) treatment of corn stover biomass to improve delignification ability and reduce the energy and chemical loadings to make the process more environmentally friendly. Raman Spectroscopic imaging, as an accurate and rapid chemical characterization method, was utilized to investigate the molecular compositional and structural changes occurring during the pretreatment process in the corn stover biomass qualitatively. Lignin characteristic peaks at 1,600, 1,620 and 1,690 cm-1as well as cellulose characteristic peaks at 1,059 and 2,888 cm-1were identified through Raman Spectroscopic measurement as indicators of the effects of the pretreatment. Real-time quantitative analysis of these functional peaks revealed the molecular structural changes during delignification, potentially may lead to optimization of the processing parameters to reduce the processing cost in the future.

As an important DNA 3′-phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase can repair damaged DNA caused by replication and recombination. It is essential to measure the level of alkaline phosphatase to indicate some potential diseases, such as cancer, related to alkaline phosphatase. Here, we designed a simple and fast method to detect alkaline phosphatase quantitively. When alkaline phosphatase is present, the resulting poly T-DNA with a 3′-hydroxyl end was cleaved by exonuclease I, prohibiting the formation of fluorescent copper nanoparticles. However, the fluorescent copper nanoparticles can be monitored with the absence of alkaline phosphatase. Hence, we can detect alkaline phosphatase with this turn-off strategy. The proposed method is able to quantify the concentration of alkaline phosphatase with the LOD of 0.0098 U/L. Furthermore, we utilized this method to measure the effects of inhibitor Na3VO4 on alkaline phosphatase. In addition, it was successfully applied to quantify the level of alkaline phosphatase in human serum. The proposed strategy is sensitive, selective, cost effective, and timesaving, having a great potential to detect alkaline phosphatase quantitatively in clinical diagnosis.

Objectives Laser-engineered net shaping (LENS) of coated surfaces can overcome the limitations of conventional coating technologies. We compared the in vitro biological response with a titanium plasma spray (TPS)-coated titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) surface with that of a Ti6Al4V surface coated with titanium using direct metal fabrication (DMF) with 3D printing technologies. Methods The in vitro ability of human osteoblasts to adhere to TPS-coated Ti6Al4V was compared with DMF-coating. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to assess the structure and morphology of the surfaces. Biological and morphological responses to human osteoblast cell lines were then examined by measuring cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, actin filaments, and RUNX2 gene expression. Results Morphological assessment of the cells after six hours of incubation using SEM showed that the TPS- and DMF-coated surfaces were largely covered with lamellipodia from the osteoblasts. Cell adhesion appeared similar in both groups. The differences in the rates of cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activities were not statistically significant. Conclusions The DMF coating applied using metal 3D printing is similar to the TPS coating, which is the most common coating process used for bone ingrowth. The DMF method provided an acceptable surface structure and a viable biological surface. Moreover, this method is automatable and less complex than plasma spraying. Cite this article: T. Shin, D. Lim, Y. S. Kim, S. C. Kim, W. L. Jo, Y. W. Lim. The biological response to laser-aided direct metal-coated Titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V). Bone Joint Res 2018;7:357–361. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.75.BJR-2017-0222.R1.

Low-temperature solution immersion growth of low-dimensional ZnO nanostructures on gold-seeded Si substrate has been demonstrated. pH environment of the precursor solution, Zn(NO3)2.6H2O (zinc nitrate hexahydrate) and C6H12N4 (HMTA) was found to have considerable effect to ZnO morphology and photoluminescence. Structural, morphological and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the samples were obtained from XRD, SEM and PL-Raman characterisation. A near neutral (pH = 6.8) and acidic (pH = 5) precursor solution aided a dense near-aligned ZnO nanorods growth with smallest rods diameter of 30 and 20 nm respectively. Whereas alkaline precursor solution (pH = 9) gave rise to flower-like structures of ZnO. Chemical equations for the reactions and the role of H+ and OH- ions role in affecting the XRD diffraction peaks and morphology, are suggested. Room temperature PL emission spectra of ZnO were collected after excitation at 325 nm. UV and visible emission distinctive of ZnO were formed and the rationale for significant shifts of the visible emission was also discussed.

Two inorganic compounds containing CO32- and SiO44- groups were introduced and ultrasound-aided coprecipitation method was applied to fabricate carbonated silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite (CSi-HA) nanopowder. The synthetic process was optimized and the crystalline phase, grain dimension and morphology of the CSi-HA nanopowder were characterized. The obtained results demonstrate that H3PO4 addition into alkaline Ca(OH)2 ammonia liquid with ultrasonic application can obviously prevent secondary phase formation and make the nascent HA product pure, highly dispersed and gel-like. The introduction of Na2SiO3 and Na2CO3 mixed solution as doping source into the nascent HA product with also continuous ultrasound utilization can effectively realize the ionic group substitution of HA by CO32- and SiO44- and make the final CSi-HA nanopowder fine and uniform. It was also found that the CSi-HA grain size shows a decrease trend with the increase of CO32- and SiO44- substitution in the experimental range.

In this study, the ability of treated oil palm ash aided with kaolin powder to produce zeolites is studied. The use of treated oil palm ash in the zeolites conversion seems to be an option for waste materials management. Characterization of treated oil palm ash from Malaysia’s palm oil plantation has been acquitted. The treated oil palm ash and kaolin powder are used as the starting material for the synthesis of zeolites materials. The method chose for the zeolites conversion is alkaline hydrothermal treatment. The chemical composition, crystalline phases and elemental composition of treated oil palm ash and as-synthesized samples were characterized and studied. From the analysis, the treated oil palm ash was a fertile source of silica and exists as quartz phase. The outcomes have significant motivation for the production of zeolites by using low cost material such as treated oil palm ash.

In this study, the ability of treated oil palm ash aided with kaolin powder to produce zeolites is studied. The palm ash has been treated with citric acid via a leaching process to get rid of the metallic impurities in it. The usage of treated oil palm ash in the zeolites conversion seems to be an option for waste materials management. Characterization of treated oil palm ash from Malaysia’s palm oil plantation has been cleared. The treated oil palm ash and kaolin powder are used as the starting material for the synthesis of zeolites materials. The method chose for the zeolites conversion is alkaline hydrothermal treatment. The chemical composition, crystalline phases and elemental composition of treated oil palm ash and as-synthesized samples were characterized and studied. From the analysis, the treated oil palm ash was a fertile source of silica and exists as quartz phase. The outcomes have significant motivation for the production of zeolites by using low cost material such as treated oil palm ash.

280 Background: A computer-aided diagnosis system for bone scintigraphy using semiquantitative index [Bone Scan Index (BSI)] has been used to measure the tumor burden of bone metastases. We examined relationships of BSI, bone turnover marker, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-progression free survival (PFS) after docetaxel-treatment for castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) with bone metastasis. Methods: Sixteen CRPC patients with bone metastases (median age 72, range 52 to 82) were treated with docetaxel. We evaluated bone metastasis by bone scintigraphy before or around six months after docetaxel-treatment retrospectively. BSI was automatically calculated by BONENAVI software version 1 (FUJIFILM RI Pharma, Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; Exini Bone, Exini Diagnostics, Sweden). Serum PSA, bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), carboxyterminal telopeptide of type I collagen (I-CTP) were examined every months. PSA-PFS was evaluated after docetaxel-treatment and compared with baseline of BSI, BAP, I-CTP, and change of these value after treatment. Overall survival (OS) was also evaluated by these markers. The rate of patients with PFS and OS was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Baseline of BSI, the serum BAP, and I-CTP before docetaxel-treatment did not affect PFS. The change of BAP and I-CTP by the docetaxel-treatment also did not affect PFS. Only the change of BSI affected PFS and the median PFS of CRPC patients with increased BSI and decreased BSI was 5.5 months and 10 months, respectively (p=0.026). Although OS showed a longer tendency in CRPC patients with decreased BSI than with increased BSI, there was not the significant difference (p=0.12). Conclusions: The change of BSI affected PFS in CRPC patients with bone metastases. Bone scan and its evaluation with BONENAVI was effective to monitor the clinical course during chemotherapy.

Saline wetlands experience large temporal fluctuations in water supply during the year and are recharged only or mainly through precipitation, meaning they are vulnerable to climate-change-induced aridification. Most passive satellite sensors are unsuitable for continuous wetland monitoring due to cloud cover and their relatively low temporal resolution. However, active satellite sensors such as the C-band synthetic aperture radar of Sentinel-1 satellites offer free, cloud-independent data. We examined surface water cover changes from October 2014 to November 2018 in the strictly protected area (13,000 ha) of the Upper-Kiskunság Alkaline Lakes region in the Danube–Tisza Interfluve in Hungary, with the aim of helping with nature protection planning. Changes and sensitivity can be defined based on the knowledge of variability. We developed a method for water cover detection based on automatic classification, applying the so-called WEKA K-Means clustering algorithm. For satellite data processing and analysis, we used the Google Earth Engine cloud processing platform. In terms of validation, we compared our results with the multispectral Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) derived from Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 top-of-atmosphere reflectance images using a threshold-based binary classifier (receiver operator characteristics) for the MNDWI data. Using two completely distinct methods operating in distinct wavelength ranges, we obtained adequately matching results, with Spearman’s correlation coefficients (ρ) ranging from 0.54 to 0.80.

This study was carried out to determine the characteristics of common carp surimi. In Australia, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is an environmental pest, strongly coloured (dark-muscle fish), large (2-3 kg), low cost (AUD 2.5/kg) and not highly valued as it is every where else. Surimi could add value to carp, but the colour would have to be modified as surimi manufacturers prefer white coloured flesh. So, firstly the efficiency of Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; 1-3% v/v) solution at alkaline side of pH (7.0-11.5) on whitening of light fillets of common carp was examined. The whiteness (L*-3b*) of surimi produced from treated (3% H2O2, pH 8.2) common carp light fillets was significantly (p less than 0.05) greater than that of threadfin bream surimi and was not significantly different to that of Alaska pollock. Based on a temperature sweep test, a similar pattern in G of tested surimi was observed which started at ca. 47?C and was completed at ca. 73-74?C. However, thread fin bream kamaboko showed better texture profile characteristics (hardness and gel strength) than that of the other kamaboko tested. To improve the quality of common carp surimi and kamaboko, alternative methods were applied such as modified conventional method (MCM), alkaline-aided method (AAM) and pH modified method (PMM) and the resultant surimi and kamaboko were compared with those produced by the traditional method (TM). In MCM each washing cycle was followed by a centrifugation step for a more effective dewatering and removal of sarcoplasmic proteins (Sp-P). Kamaboko prepared from MCM was whiter and had significantly (p less than 0.05) improved textural characteristics (hardness and gel strength) than that from TM, AAM and PMM. Furthermore, SEM of surimi and kamaboko showed higher number of polygonal structure/mm2 in the gel matrix of MCM kamaboko, as a result of more cross-linking of the myofibrillar proteins, than that recorded for TM, AAM and PMM samples tested. Finally, this study examined the effect of adding common carp sarcoplasmic proteins (Sp-P) on the gel characteristics of threadfin bream surimi and kamaboko. Based on the temperature sweep test, the depths of the valley in the G thermograph of the gels decreased as the concentration of added Sp-P increased from 5% to 35%. Storage modulus (G) of the gels showed greater elasticity in the samples with added Sp-P compared with the control samples without added Sp-P. Furthermore, the breaking force and breaking distance and consequently gel strength of the resultant kamaboko were improved, significantly (p less than 0.05) with added Sp-P. Thus, added Sp-P did not interfere with the gelling of myofibrillar proteins during sol-gel transition phase and was associated with textural quality enhancement for the resultant kamaboko. However, the addition of freeze-dried Sp-P from the dark muscle of the carp decreased the whiteness of the resultant surimi. Furthermore, the gel strength could not be associated with either the number of polygonal structures/mm2 or the area of the polygonal structures.