Search

This study focused on optimizing biodiesel (BD) production from the hazelnut kernel oil and waste cooking oil using Box Behnken Design in Response Surface Methodology (RSM- BBD). The process was improved by employing CaO as a catalyst, with four variables including reaction temperature (50 to 70 °C), CaO catalyst concentration (2 to 6 wt%), stirring speed (300 to 500 rpm), and methanol-to-oil molar ratio (5:1 to 15:1). Through RSM-BBD, the optimal conditions for achieving maximum biodiesel yield were found to be a temperature of 50 °C, catalyst of 2 wt%, stirring speed of 500 rpm, and a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 10:1. These conditions caused in a biodiesel yield of 94.85%. The findings established that biodiesel derived from hazelnut kernel oil and the waste cooking oil not only presented a sustainable alternative to conventional fuels but also chances ASTM and EN biodiesel standards, making it suitable for industrial production.

The Wear tests for Al-Zn alloys reinforced with TiO₂ and Si₃N₄ were conducted using the Pin-on-Disc method to estimate the wear rate under different load conditions, sliding distance, and reinforcement percentage. The time period for each test was kept constant at 10 minutes. The results presented that when the load of 30 N was applied with a sliding distance of 1000 m, the wear rate decreased to 0.00154 mm³/Nm. Nevertheless, as the load increased to 50 N and the sliding distance prolonged to 2000 m, the wear rate increased significantly to 0.00356 mm³/Nm. This increase in wear rate could be attributed to the combined belongings of developed load and longer sliding distances, lead to greater frictional heat generation at the sliding interface. Moreover, at load of 50 N and a sliding distance of 2000 m, with 6 wt% TiO₂ and 2 wt% Si₃N₄ reinforcement, the wear rate further increased to 0.00503 mm³/Nm. This suggested that the combination of raised load, extended sliding distance, and specific reinforcement percentages aggravated the wear due to intensified mechanical stress and heat buildup.

Aggregated misfolded proteins are hallmarks of most neurodegenerative diseases. In a chronic disease state, including pathologic situations of oxidative stress, these proteins are sequestered into inclusions. Accumulation of aggregated proteins [...]

Varying concentrations of nano-Pr2O3 doped in “PVA + Sodium Citrate (90 : 10)” polyelectrolyte films are synthesized using solution cast technique and the films are characterized adopting FTIR, XRD, SEM, and DSC methods. The film with 3.0% of nano-Pr2O3 content is more homogenous and possesses more amorphous region that facilitate the deeper penetration of nanoparticles into the film causing more interactions between the functional groups of the polymeric film and nano-Pr2O3 particles and thereby turning the film more friendlily to the proton conductivity. The conductivity is maximum of 7 × 10−4 S/cm at room temperature for 3.0% nano-Pr2O3 film and at that composition, the activation energy and crystallinity are low. With increase in temperature, the conductivity is increasing and it is attributed to the hopping of interchain and intrachain ion movements and furthermore decrease in microscopic viscosity of the films. The major charge carriers are ions and not electrons. These films are incorporated successfully as polyelectrolytes in electrochemical cells which are evaluated for their discharge characteristics. It is found that the discharge time is maximum of 140 hrs with open circuit voltage of 1.78 V for film containing 3% of nano-Pr2O3 and this reflects its adoptability in the solid-state battery applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are crucial in today's engineering applications in education, medicine and commercial systems. It devises accessibility for differently abled people as well. This is a survey-level study of the potential of ICT for the differently abled people. This paper presents the literature resources and the potential for the same in the field. Interestingly, it is noticed that a lot of accessibility features are within one's reach and are integrated in today's operating systems. These are rather unnoticed by many. This paper presents the results of the survey in the inception stage of the research work. Software applications such as screen readers (for e.g., JAWS) are available for visually challenged people. Cognitive systems development has the potential for devising solutions to differently abled people under Cognitive Impairment (CI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular mechanism and significance of endocytic processes involved in directional axon elongation are not well understood. The Unc-51 family of serine/threonine kinases was shown to be important for axon growth and was also linked to endocytosis, providing an entry point to study this problem. We found that mouse Unc-51-like kinase 1/2 (Ulk1/2) proteins are localized to vesicular structures in growth cones of mouse spinal sensory neurons. RNAi-mediated knockdown of Ulk1 and/or Ulk2 resulted in impaired endocytosis of nerve growth factor (NGF), excessive axon arborization, and severely stunted axon elongation. The evidence also indicates that Ulk1/2 mediates a non-clathrin-coated endocytosis in sensory growth cones. Interestingly, NGF can induce the interaction of Ulk1 with TrkA receptor complexes through promoting K63-polyubiquitination of Ulk1 and binding of Ulk1 to the scaffolding protein p62. These results and additional studies suggest that Ulk1/2 proteins regulate filopodia extension and neurite branching during sensory axon outgrowth, probably through regulating TrkA receptor trafficking and signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1)/p62 is an interacting partner of the atypical protein kinase C ζ/ι and serves as a scaffold for cell signaling and ubiquitin binding, which is critical for several cell functions in vivo such as osteoclastogenesis, adipogenesis, and T cell activation. Here we report that in neurons of p62-/- mouse brain there is a detectable increase in ubiquitin staining paralleled by accumulation of insoluble ubiquitinated proteins. The absolute amount of each ubiquitin chain linkage measured by quantitative mass spectrometry demonstrated hyperaccumulation of Lys63 chains in the insoluble fraction recovered from the brain of p62-/- mice, which correlated with increased levels of Lys63-ubiquitinated TrkA receptor. The increase in Lys63 chains was attributed in part to diminished activity of the TRAF6-interacting the Lys63-deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB), cylindromatosis tumor suppressor (CYLD). The interaction of CYLD with TRAF6 was dependent upon p62, thus defining a mechanism that accounts for decreased activity of CYLD in the absence of p62. These findings reveal that p62 serves as an adapter for the formation of this complex, thereby regulating the DUB activity of CYLD by TRAF6 interaction. Thus, p62 has a bifunctional role in regulation of an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, TRAF6, and a DUB, CYLD, to balance the turnover of Lys63-polyubiquitinated proteins such as TrkA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]