Lignocellulosic biomasses, exhibit resistance to enzymatic hydrolysis due to the presence of lignin and hemicellulose. Ionic liquids proved their applicability in lignin degradation, however, ionic liquid removal has to be performed to proceed to hydrolysis. Therefore, this study reports an in situ hydrolysis of empty fruit bunches (EFB) that combined an ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. For enzyme production, palm kernel cake (PKC) was used as the primary media for microbial cellulase (PKC-Cel) from Trichoderma reesei (RUTC30). The obtained enzyme exhibited a promising stability in several ionic liquids. Among few, in choline acetate [Cho]OAc, PKC-Cel retained 63.16 % of the initial activity after 6 h and lost only 10 % of its activity in 10 % IL/buffer mixture. Upon the confirmation of the PKC-Cel stability, EFB was subjected to IL-pretreatment followed by hydrolysis in a single step without further removal of the IL. The findings revealed that choline acetate [Cho]OAc and choline butyrate [Cho]Bu were among the best ILs used in the study since 0.332 ± 0.05 g glucose/g and 0.565 ± 0.08 g total reducing sugar/g EFB were obtained after 24 h of enzymatic hydrolysis. Compared to the untreated EFB, the amount of reducing sugar obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis increased by three-fold in the case of [Cho]OAc and [Cho]Bu, two-fold with [EMIM]OAc and phosphate-based ILs whereas the lowest concentration was obtained in [TBPH]OAc. Pretreatment of EFB with [Cho]OAc and [Cho]Bu showed significant differences in the morphology of EFB samples when observed with SEM. Analysis of the lignin, hemicellulose and hemicellulose showed that the total lignin content from the raw EFB was reduced from 37.8 ± 0.6 to 25.81 ± 0.35 % (w/w) upon employment of [Cho]OAc in the compatible system. The PKC-Cel from T. reesei (RUTC30) exhibited promising characteristics that need to be investigated further towards a single-step process for bioethanol production.
Herein, we report ethosome (ET) formulations composed of a safe amount of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC)-based ionic liquid with various concentrations of ethanol as a carrier for the transdermal delivery of a high molecular weight drug, insulin. The Insulin-loaded ET vesicles exhibited long-term stability compared to conventional DMPC ETs, showing significantly higher drug encapsulation efficiency and increased skin permeation ability.
In the present investigation, a total of 108 combinations of ionic liquids (ILs) were screened using the conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) with the aid of six cations and eighteen anions for the extraction of succinic acid (SA) from aqueous streams through dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). Using the screened ILs, an ionic liquid-based DLLME (IL-DLLME) was developed to extract SA and the role of different reaction parameters in the effectiveness of IL-DLLME approach was investigated. COSMO-RS results suggested that, quaternary ammonium and choline cations form effective IL combinations with [OH¯], [F¯], and [SO42¯] anions due to hydrogen bonding. In view of these results, one of the screened ILs, tetramethylammonium hydroxide [TMAm][OH] was chosen as the extractant in IL-DLLME process and acetonitrile was adopted as the dispersive solvent. The highest SA removal efficiency of 97.8% was achieved using 25 μL of IL [TMAm][OH] as a carrier and 500 μL of acetonitrile as dispersive solvent. The highest amount of SA was extracted with a stir time of 20 min at 300 rpm, followed by centrifugation for 5 min at 4500 rpm. Overall, the findings showed that IL-DLLME is efficient in extracting succinic acid from aqueous environments while adhering to the first-order kinetics.
This study employs a comparative analysis method to examine variations in food waste (FW) generation between developed and developing nations, focusing on income levels, population growth rates, and community engagement in waste management. Quantitative data from Taiwan, Malaysia, and Bangladesh are comprehensively analyzed using regression analysis and descriptive statistics. Results indicate that Taiwan, with its stringent regulatory frameworks and advanced recycling technologies, generates significantly less FW per capita compared to Malaysia and Bangladesh. Malaysia shows moderate levels of FW reduction efforts, supported by varying degrees of community participation, whereas Bangladesh faces challenges with both regulatory enforcement and technological adoption. The study proposes an integrative waste management model emphasizing regulatory compliance rates, community participation metrics, and technology diffusion indices to effectively address FW challenges. These findings underscore the importance of tailored waste management strategies aligned with economic and demographic contexts of developing nations. Policymakers and waste management practitioners can leverage these insights to establish targeted FW reduction goals and enhance recycling initiatives. The research highlights the urgency of integrated waste management approaches to mitigate environmental and public health risks associated with FW mismanagement, advocating for evidence-based policies supported by robust quantitative analysis.
The timely identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children is imperative to prevent potential challenges as they grow. When sharing data related to autism for an accurate diagnosis, safeguarding its security and privacy is a paramount concern to fend off unauthorized access, modification, or theft during transmission. Researchers have devised diverse security and privacy models or frameworks, most of which often leverage proprietary algorithms or adapt existing ones to address data leakage. However, conventional anonymization methods, although effective in the sanitization process, proved inadequate for the restoration process. Furthermore, despite numerous scholarly contributions aimed at refining the restoration process, the accuracy of restoration remains notably deficient. Based on the problems identified above, this paper presents a novel approach to data restoration for sanitized sensitive autism datasets with improved performance. In the prior study, we constructed an optimal key for the sanitization process utilizing the proposed Enhanced Combined PSO-GWO framework. This key was implemented to conceal sensitive autism data in the database, thus avoiding information leakage. In this research, the same key was employed during the data restoration process to enhance the accuracy of the original data recovery. Therefore, the study enhanced the restoration process for ASD data's security and privacy by utilizing an optimal key produced via the Enhanced Combined PSO-GWO framework. When compared to existing meta-heuristic algorithms, the simulation results from the autism data restoration experiments demonstrated highly competitive accuracies with 99.90%, 99.60%, 99.50%, 99.25%, and 99.70%, respectively. Among the four types of datasets used, this method outperforms other existing methods on the 30-month autism children dataset, mostly.
The aim of the present study was to characterize the phenolic acids, flavonoids, and antioxidant properties of monofloral honey collected from five different districts in Bangladesh. A new high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a UV detector method was developed for the identification of the phenolic acids and flavonoids. A total of five different phenolic acids were identified, with the most abundant being caffeic acid, benzoic acid, gallic acid, followed by chlorogenic acid and trans-cinnamic acid. The flavonoids, kaempferol, and catechin were most abundant, followed by myricetin and naringenin. The mean moisture content, total sugar content, and color characteristics of the honey samples were 18.36 ± 0.95%, 67.40 ± 5.63 g/100 g, and 129.27 ± 34.66 mm Pfund, respectively. The mean total phenolic acids, total flavonoid content, and proline content were 199.20 ± 135.23, 46.73 ± 34.16, and 556.40 ± 376.86 mg/kg, respectively, while the mean FRAP values and DPPH radical scavenging activity were 327.30 ± 231.87 μM Fe (II)/100 g and 36.95 ± 20.53%, respectively. Among the different types of honey, kalijira exhibited the highest phenolics and antioxidant properties. Overall, our study confirms that all the investigated honey samples are good sources of phenolic acids and flavonoids with good antioxidant properties.
In the present study, the residual pesticide levels were determined in eggplants (Solanum melongena) (n = 16), purchased from four different markets in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The carbamate and organophosphorus pesticide residual levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the efficiency of gamma radiation on pesticide removal in three different types of vegetables was also studied. Many (50%) of the samples contained pesticides, and three samples had residual levels above the maximum residue levels determined by the World Health Organisation. Three carbamates (carbaryl, carbofuran, and pirimicarb) and six organophosphates (phenthoate, diazinon, parathion, dimethoate, phosphamidon, and pirimiphos-methyl) were detected in eggplant samples; the highest carbofuran level detected was 1.86 mg/kg, while phenthoate was detected at 0.311 mg/kg. Gamma radiation decreased pesticide levels proportionately with increasing radiation doses. Diazinon, chlorpyrifos, and phosphamidon were reduced by 40-48%, 35-43%, and 30-45%, respectively, when a radiation strength of 0.5 kGy was utilized. However, when the radiation dose was increased to 1.0 kGy, the levels of the pesticides were reduced to 85-90%, 80-91%, and 90-95%, respectively. In summary, our study revealed that pesticide residues are present at high amounts in vegetable samples and that gamma radiation at 1.0 kGy can remove 80-95% of some pesticides.
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of evaporation, gamma irradiation and temperature on the total polyphenols, flavonoids and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activities of Tualang honey samples (n = 14) following storage over three, six or twelve months. The mean polyphenol concentrations of the six gamma irradiated honey samples at three, six and twelve months, respectively, were 96.13%, 98.01% and 102.03% higher than the corresponding values of the eight non-gamma irradiated samples. Similarly, the mean values for flavonoids at three, six and twelve months were 111.52%, 114.81% and 110.04% higher, respectively, for the gamma irradiated samples. The mean values for DPPH radical-scavenging activities at three, six and twelve months were also 67.09%, 65.26% and 44.65% higher, respectively, for the gamma irradiated samples. These data indicate that all gamma irradiated honey samples had higher antioxidant potential following gamma irradiation, while evaporation and temperature had minor effects on antioxidant potential.
In this article, a unique metamaterial (MTM) structure is presented that exhibits four resonances of transmission coefficient (S21) that fall into S, X, and Ku bands. The MTM design is initiated on a Rogers (RT5880) substrate with an electrical dimension of 0.088 λ × 0.088 λ (λ is calculated at 3.424 GHz). The resonating patch contains four quartiles connected by a central metallic strip. The placement of each quartile is such that the whole resonator is mirror symmetric about the vertical axis. Two H-shaped modifiers connect two quartiles of each vertical half of the resonator. These H-shaped modifiers form the resonance cavity in its vicinity, and thus help significantly to orient the overall resonances of the proposed MTM at 3.424 GHz, 10 GHz, 14.816 GHz, and 16.848 GHz. The resonance phenomena are examined through equivalent circuit modeling and verified in Advanced Design Software (ADS). Metamaterial properties of the proposed MTM are extracted and it exhibits negative permittivity, permeability, and refractive index. The prototype of the MTM is fabricated and measurement is taken. The measured S21 shows a close similarity with the simulated result. Moreover, effective medium ratio (EMR) is calculated for the proposed MTM and a high EMR of 10.95 is obtained that expresses its compactness. This compact MTM with negative permittivity, permittivity, and refractive index can be important component for improving the performance of the miniaturized devices for multi-band wireless communication systems.
An emerging contaminant of concern in aqueous streams is naproxen. Due to its poor solubility, non-biodegradability, and pharmaceutically active nature, the separation is challenging. Conventional solvents employed for naproxen are toxic and harmful. Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted great attention as greener solubilizing and separating agent for various pharmaceuticals. ILs have found extensive usage as solvents in nanotechnological processes involving enzymatic reactions and whole cells. The employment of ILs can enhance the effectiveness and productivity of such bioprocesses. To avoid cumbersome experimental screening, in this study, conductor like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) was used to screen ILs. Thirty anions and eight cations from various families were chosen. Activity coefficient at infinite dilution, capacity, selectivity, performance index, molecular interactions using σ-profiles and interaction energies were used to make predictions about solubility. According to the findings, quaternary ammonium cations, highly electronegative, and food-grade anions will form excellent ionic liquid combinations for solubilizing naproxen and hence will be better separating agents. This research will contribute easy designing of ionic liquid-based separation technologies for naproxen. In different separation technologies, ionic liquids can be employed as extractants, carriers, adsorbents, and absorbents.
Background Little is known regarding whether arterial stiffness and atherosclerotic burden are each independently associated with brain structural changes. Simultaneous assessments of both arterial stiffness and atherosclerotic burden in associations with brain could provide insights into the mechanisms of brain structural changes. Methods and Results Using data from the SESSA (Shiga Epidemiological Study of Subclinical Atherosclerosis), we analyzed data among 686 Japanese men (mean [SD] age, 67.9 [8.4] years; range, 46-83 years) free from history of stroke and myocardial infarction. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and coronary artery calcification on computed tomography scans were measured between March 2010 and August 2014. Brain volumes (total brain volume, gray matter, Alzheimer disease signature and prefrontal) and brain vascular damage (white matter hyperintensities) were quantified using brain magnetic resonance imaging from January 2012 through February 2015. In multivariable adjustment models including mean arterial pressure, when brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and coronary artery calcification were entered into the same models, the β (95% CI) for Alzheimer disease signature volume for each 1-SD increase in brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity was -0.33 (-0.64 to -0.02), and the unstandardized β (95% CI) for white matter hyperintensities for each 1-unit increase in coronary artery calcification was 0.68 (0.05-1.32). Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and coronary artery calcification were not statistically significantly associated with total brain and gray matter volumes. Conclusions Among Japanese men, higher arterial stiffness was associated with lower Alzheimer disease signature volumes, whereas higher atherosclerotic burden was associated with brain vascular damage. Arterial stiffness and atherosclerotic burden may be independently associated with brain structural changes via different pathways.