Higher Stability Index Research Articles

Preparation and properties of high refractive index UV-cured titanium hybrid optical materials

In this study, a new synthetic route was developed to prepare UV-cured titanium hybrid optical materials. Transparent high refractive index titanium hybrid optical materials were prepared by means of non-hydrolyzed sol-gel and UV curing. The experimental results show: titanium was successfully introduced into the silicone chain in the form of Ti-O-Si chemical bonds. The materials have high light transmittance (>95%) in the visible light region, high thermal stability and tunable refractive index (1.6533–1.8145) at 486 nm. Our study provides a new ideal for preparing high refractive index UV-cured titanium hybrid optical materials for potential optical applications.

Computational Analysis of Arginine Deiminase Sequences to Provide a Guideline for Protein Engineering

Background:Arginine deiminase of Mycoplasma hominis, an arginine catabolizing enzyme, is currently in clinical trial for the treatment of arginine auxotrophic cancers. However, some drawbacks such as instability and antigenicity have limited its application as a protein drug. Arginine Deiminase (ADI) belongs to the guanidino-group modifying enzyme superfamily. Despite differences in the primary amino acid sequences of various members of this superfamily, the folding and secondary structures are conserved in all members. Despite structural similarities, ADIs in various species have different levels of catalytic activity and physicochemical properties due to the differences in their primary amino acid sequences. Therefore, investigating and comparing sequences between different ADI producing bacterial strains could be helpful in the rational engineering of ADI.Objective:In the current research, we used an in-silico approach to characterize and classify the available reviewed protein sequences of ADI.Results:102 ADI sequences from SwissProt database were extracted. Subsequently, based on clustering analyses, the sequence sets were divided into five distinct groups. Different physicochemical properties, solubility, and antigenicity of the enzymes were determined. Some ADI sequences were introduced as well-suited candidates for protein engineering; Lactobacillus fermentum ADI for low pI value, Mycobacterium avium ADI for high aliphatic index, Bacillus licheniformis ADI for low GRAVY index, Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens ADI for low antigenicity and high stability index, and among Mycoplasma ADIs, Mycoplasma arthritidis ADI for high stability and aliphatic index, and Mycoplasma capricolum for low antigenicity.

ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ ОЦЕНКА СТАБИЛЬНОСТИ И ПЛАСТИЧНОСТИ СОРТОВ ЯРОВОЙ МЯГКОЙ ПШЕНИЦЫ РАЗЛИЧНЫХ ПЕРИОДОВ СОРТОСМЕНЫ

The paper presents an analysis of spring soft wheat varieties of different periods of variety change according to ecological plasticity and stability when cultivated in different climatic conditions (2014–2019). To increase the yield of spring soft wheat varieties, much attention is paid to the devlopment of high-intensity forms that respond positively to additional investments in agricultural technology. These varieties must also demonstrate high yield stability as well as plasticity in relation to environmental factors – i.e. the ability to form the high yields in wide range of environmental conditions. In the course of the study, the authors carried out an environmental assessment of ten varieties of four major groups by yield in a five-year field experiment. The yield upper limits, as well as an indicator of stress resistance, were estimated. Based on these data, statistical coefficients of their ecological plasticity and stability, as well as the stability variant, were analyzed. The Agatha and Esther spring wheat varieties showed the most responsiveness to the improvement of cultivation conditions. They can be considered the most plastic varieties. The highest stability index was observed in the Radmir, Amir, MIS, Zlata and Lyubava varieties. The most promising among the new spring soft wheat varieties is the Radmira variety, which has the best adaptive potential, which incidentally allows it to form a stable high level of productivity in changeable climatic conditions. Among the varieties of earlier periods, promising cultivars include the Zlata variety. Its high adaptability is comfirmed by its cultivation in 1,2,3,4 and 7 regions of Russia.

Agrobiological characteristics of spelt wheat and intermediate wheatgrass under the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

Agrobiological characteristics of spelt wheat and intermediate wheatgrass under the conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

INVESTIGATION OF INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS ON CONSUMPTION PROPERTIES FORMATION IN MILK-CHERRY SMOOTHIE

The aim of our work is to study the structure of the food system of milk-cherry smoothie with given high consumption indices (increased content of macronutrients and easily-assimilated protein); it allows to widen the assortment of healthy beverages at enterprises of restaurant economy. The effectiveness of functioning of restaurant economy enterprises is, in the first turn, determined by the extent, to which their strategic actions correspond to long-term market requirements. A market condition in the field of restaurant economy is a driver for developing innovative products and technologies for getting culinary products. At developing aerated products, the main factor of getting a high-quality one is technological regimes for getting an aerated structure. An influence of temperature and shaking time on the foam-forming ability of a food system and smoothie form stability, including milk whey, cherry juice, apple pectin and collagen hydrolysate, was studied. It has been established, that most foam-formation (62 %) is attained at shaking smoothie under the following conditions: temperature – 10 °С, shaking time – 90 seconds. The maximal number of air bubbles in smoothie has the diameter d=(0,32±0,01) mm. High multiplicity indices of the smoothie foam structure (250 %) characterize the high product stability index. The obtained data as to the development of the technological process of getting the aerated smoothie structure give a possibility to recommend the developed technology for producing smoothie at restaurant economy enterprises.

Obtain and Application of Surface-active Substance on the Base of Products Refination of Cotton Seed Oil

The article the results of investigation on obtaining of surface-active substance -SAS on the waste cotton oil for drilling of wells and intensification of the flotation process are presented. The main component of new SAS are waste, cotton oil refinery and chemical plants. SAS have hudrophobization (waterproof) action on easy-swelling rocks (clays, argellites, alevrolits). Direct water emulsions obtained from reagents have low viscosity, high stability and low filtration index. There reagents have influence at drilling tools (that is they increase the life of drilling bits and diamond bits) [1, 2]. The study flotation enrichments of copper-molybdic ore is revealed characteristic foam-former and collector surface-active substances (NA-1) and is simulation one oily provided creation without minerals fields extraction of gold and color metals has been determined. Optimal conditions of the syntheses: ratio of main components, time of reaction, temperature and concentration have been determined. The comparison of new SAS with other foreing analogies was carried out. The main colloidal-chemical characteristic of synthesized SAS: surface activity, adsorption, viscosity, concentration of micelle- formation have been determined. Technology of obtain of anion surfaceactive substances from local organic raw material was elaborated, which by qualitative characteristics is a substitute of the import reagent collector and foam-former [4, 5]. Dependence on obtained product from the temperature of the process, time of reactions, ratio of initial components optimal concentration of NaOH was investigated. The foam forming ability of the new reagents in comparison with standard reagent T-92 was determined and it was shown that by best ability of forms destruction the methyl syloxane’s liquid and mineral oil have possessed.The intensifications of the process of flotation’s enrichment of copper-molybdic ore with using new obtain reagent NA-1 was offered.

Preparation and properties of high refractive index ZrO2 nano-hybrid materials

In this study, a new synthetic route was developed to prepare ZrO2 nano-hybrid materials. Polymer matrix containing S and Br elements was prepared by means of thiol-epoxy click chemistry. Transparent high refractive index ZrO2 nano-hybrid materials were prepared by means of sol-gel preparation and segmental heat curing. The experimental results show: ZrO2 particles were successfully synthesized and homogeneously dispersed at the nanometer scale into the polymer matrix, the materials had high light transmittance (>85%) in the visible light region, high thermal stability and tunable refractive index (1.6494–1.7021) at 486 nm. Our study provides a new ideal for preparing high refractive index ZrO2 nano-hybrid materials for potential optical applications.

Polymers and cyclic compounds based on a side‐opening type cage silsesquioxane

ABSTRACTPolymers having polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) in the main chains are an important class of organic–inorganic hybrid materials. Despite the increasing attention to the POSS polymers, variation of the monomers is still limited. Herein, we have proposed side‐opening POSS (SO‐POSS) monomers. Platinum‐catalyzed hydrosilylation polymerization proceeded to produce polysiloxanes having SO‐POSS in the main chains. The obtained polysiloxanes showed good solubility, high thermal stability, high transparency, and tunable reflective index. In addition, cyclic compounds were obtained during the investigation of the polymerization, and were synthesized with high selectivity under the slightly diluted conditions. The obtained cyclic compounds showed high thermal stability due to the silsesquioxane backbone, and the high dispersibility as a filler in poly(methyl methacrylate) was demonstrated. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 2243–2250

ОЦЕНКА СТАБИЛЬНОСТИ СОРТОВ ЯРОВОГО ЯЧМЕНЯ (Hordeum vulgare L.) В СОВРЕМЕННЫХ КЛИМАТИЧЕСКИХ УСЛОВИЯХ АРХАНГЕЛЬСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

The long-term dynamics of the main meteorological indicators is analyzed, their compliance with the requirements of growth and development of promising varieties of barley is established. Over the past 19 years, there has been an upward trend in temperature and precipitation over all months during the growing season. The significant effect of the sum of effective temperatures and hydrothermal coefficient on the yield formation of the studied barley varieties was established. The data obtained indicate the need to create varieties that are more resistant to high temperatures. Under changing meteorological conditions, important indicators of varieties are their resistance to stress conditions of growth (U2 – U1) and genetic flexibility of the variety (U1 + U2)/2. In our experiments established that the high stress resistance have varieties of Dina and Kotlasskiy; the increased genetic flexibility was highest in the varieties Kotlasskiy and Tausen'. The lowest coefficient of variation (V) was observed in Kotlasskiy variety, the most high — variety Vard. The highest stability index and index of the level of stability of the yield of the variety were noted in the Kotlasskiy variety.

Food-grade Pickering emulsions stabilized by ovotransferrin fibrils

The present work aimed to explore the feasibility of fabricating stable food-grade Pickering emulsions stabilized by ovotransferrin (OVT) fibrils. Raman imaging microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed that Pickering emulsion droplets stabilized by OVT fibrils were successfully prepared. Visual observation revealed that OVT fibril-stabilized Pickering emulsions at different fibril concentrations and oil fractions had high emulsified phase volume, and these Pickering emulsions had high stability index during 20-day storage at 20 °C. OVT fibrils could be employed to stabilize Pickering emulsions at broad ionic strengths (i.e., 0–1000 mM) and pHs (i.e., 2–7). Increasing either ionic strength or pH was helpful for the formation of emulsions with higher emulsified phase volume fraction, smaller emulsion droplets, and larger gel strength. In terms of thermal stability, OVT fibril-stabilized Pickering emulsions were stable during 10-day storage at 50 °C. The acquired knowledge in this study may provide new insight into fabrication of food-grade Pickering emulsions with excellent stability.

Intelligent structural color material based on WS2 nanosheets: applications for anti-counterfeiting

Structural color, an important functional component of many organisms, is widespread in the natural world. The value of WS2 is being gradually recognized. Inspired by these phenomena, an intelligent structural color material, with a heterogeneous striped pattern that is based on WS2 nanosheets, is presented here. When irradiated with light, the material is endowed with light-controlled, reversible, bending behavior with self-reporting color indication. Furthermore, the material has a high stability index and a small maximum bending angle. Most interestingly, because of the WS2 nanosheets’ strong photoluminescence ability, the structural colors’ intensity is increased. This material can be used as light-triggered, dynamic barcode labels for anti-counterfeiting different products. These features of the bioinspired structural color stripe pattern of the material indicate its potential for constructing binary information storage devices, intelligent sensors, and so on.

Novel screening protocol for precise phenotyping of salt-tolerance at reproductive stage in rice.

The present study reports an unequivocal and improved protocol for efficient screening of salt tolerance at flowering stage in rice, which can aid phenotyping of population for subsequent identification of QTLs associated with salinity stress, particularly at reproductive stage. To validatethe new method, the selection criteria, level and time of imposition of stress; plant growth medium were standardized using three rice genotypes. The setup was established with a piezometer placed in a perforated pot for continuous monitoring of soil EC and pH throughout the period of study. Further, fertilizer enriched soil was partially substituted by gravels for stabilization and maintaining the uniformity of soil EC in pots without hindering its buffering capacity. The protocol including modified medium (Soil:Stone, 4:1) at 8dSm-1 salinity level was validated using seven different genotypes possessing differential salt sensitivity. Based on the important selection traits such as high stability index for plant yield, harvest index and number of grains/panicle and also high K+ concentration and low Na+- K+ ratio in flag leaf at grain filling stage were validated and employed in the evaluation of a mapping population in the modified screening medium. The method was found significantly efficient for easy maintenance of desired level of soil salinity and identification of genotypes tolerant to salinity at reproductive stage.

Sapucaia nut (Lecythis pisonis Cambess) and its by-products: A promising and underutilized source of bioactive compounds. Part I: Nutritional composition and lipid profile

The nutritional composition of the sapucaia nut, cake and shell, the nut and cake minerals content and the lipid profile of the nut oil (fatty acids, tocopherols, phytosterols and triacylglycerols) were determined. The nuts and cake exhibited a high content of lipid (47.9 to 60.8 mg 100 g−1), protein (15.8 to 19.5 mg 100 g−1), dietary fiber (16.5 to 22.6 mg 100 g−1) and provided an excellent source of selenium (26.4 to 46.94 μg g−1). The oil contained a high amount of unsaturated fatty acids (39.7 to 45.4% of oleic and 32.2 to 46.6% of linoleic acids) and presented a high Oxidative Stability Index (8.57–12.95 h) indicating the presence of antioxidant compounds in the oil. The major triacylglycerols in the sapucaia oil were LLO, PLO, LOO, POO, OOO, PLL and LLL. The main bioactive lipids identified in the oil were γ-tocopherol (19.2 to 28.5 mg 100 g−1) and β-sitosterol (92.8 to 194 mg 100 g−1). The results showed that the sapucaia nut and its by-products are a promising natural source of bioactive and nutritional compounds and when present in the diet can contribute to the maintenance of human health. In addition, the nut and by-product represents a promising raw material for the food industry.

Performance of bmr 6 and 12 Sorghum Mutants in Different Wild Backgrounds Under Salinity

Sorghum is one of the bioenergy crops, with considerable tolerance to salinity. The current work was undertaken to assess the salinity tolerance of brown midrib (bmr) mutant lines and wild parents for biomass composition and potential theoretical ethanol yield (TEY). The variation for salinity levels in field plots was significant; hence, salinity screening under controlled environment was performed. The mutant line N 600 (bmr-12) had performed better under field screening (at 10 dS m−1) with fresh stalk yield of 17.3 t ha−1, dry stalk yield of 7.4 t ha−1, and grain yield of 2.0 t ha−1. The performance of bmr-6 and bmr-12 mutant alleles showed that bmr-12 allele, i.e., N 597 and N 600 had performed better than its wild types EHS and Atlas, respectively, for relative fresh and dry biomass index at 20, 40 and 80 days after imposing 150 mM salinity stress. The lines N 597 (13.05 cm2 g−1), N 596 (6.84 cm2 g−1) and N 593 (7.39 cm2 g−1) recorded the highest specific leaf area at 20, 40 and 80 days of stress, respectively. High membrane stability index was recorded in mutants N 596 (bmr-6-85.33%) and N 597 (bmr-12-84.78%) with EHS though under different genetic background under stress. Higher TEY was recorded in N 597 (2219.82 L ha−1), N 600 (2159.79 L ha−1), N 595 (2019.03 L ha−1) and N 598 (1945.33 L ha−1) under stressed conditions, with a moderate reduction of 47.85 and 47.50% in 2014 and 2015, respectively, in TEY.

Facile Polymerization of Water and Triple-Bond Based Monomers toward Functional Polyamides

Water is an abundant, natural, and sustainable resource. However, it has not been used as a monomer for the construction of polymers. In this paper, we take this challenge and develop a new polymerization of water and triple-bond based monomers of isocyanides and bromoalkynes, and polyamides with high molecular weights (up to 41 700) and stereoregularities (the fraction of Z-isomer generally higher than 80%) are obtained in excellent yields (up to 98.1%) under mild reaction conditions. The polymers possess good solubility and exhibit high thermal stability and refractive index. The tetraphenylethene-containing polymers show the unique aggregation-enhanced emission (AEE) characteristics. Moreover, thanks to their containing bromoacrylamide groups in the main chains, these polyamides could be easily postmodified through different reactions, providing a convenient platform for polymer functionalization. Thus, this work not only established a stereoselective polymerization of water and triple-bond based monom...

Stearic sunflower oil as a sustainable and healthy alternative to palm oil. A review

Palm oil is widely used in the food industry because of its lower cost, high oxidative stability index, long shelf-life, and a reasonable replacement of trans fats. However, increased palm oil production reduces biodiversity, damages the ecosystem, and poses health risks to humans. Unsustainable development of palm plantations has caused deforestation and loss of natural habitat, rendering many species (Sumatran orangutans, elephants, and tigers) critically endangered. Similarly, decomposition and burning of carbon-rich soil in vast and deep peatlands is increasing carbon emissions. Furthermore, excessive consumption of palmitic acid (and other saturated fats except stearic acid) increases bad cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, we need healthier, stable, and solid/semi-solid oils at room temperature with longer shelf-life and without trans fats. Here, we review the advancements in the development of sunflower oil varieties containing high stearic (∼18%) and high oleic (∼70%) acids which makes them healthy and sustainable alternatives to palm oil. First, the high-stearic-high-oleic sunflower crops can have grain and oil yield as high as 4036 and 1685 kg/ha and oleic and stearic acid yield up to ∼73 and ∼21%. Second, high-stearic-high-oleic oils obtained from mutant and hybrid sunflower cultivars have higher oxidative stability index and therefore have better stability, quality, and functionality than regular sunflower oil. For example, the oxidative stability index of commercially available Nutrisun at 110 °C is six times greater than that of regular sunflower oil. Finally, recent advances have made several mutant and hybrid cultivars with high grain and oil yield and high levels of stearic and oleic acids available. Given this progress, natural healthy high-stearic-high-oleic sunflower oil can now be grown in both the hemispheres in a sustainable manner with the currently available advanced technology and without damaging the ecosystem as is currently happening with palm oil cultivation.

Landscape Function of Post Tin-Mining Land After Reclamation in Bangka, Indonesia

Tin mining has a negative impact on the environment of Bangka, Indonesia. Efforts have being conducted to reclaim post tin-mining lands. However, the ecological function of the land have not been evaluated. The objective of this research was to assess the landscape function of post tin mining lands in Bangka. This researchwas conducted at three location that represented the tin mining conditions in Bangka. The landscape function analysis(LFA)was performed in each location for three types of land (A: unreclaimed tin-mining, B: reclaimed tin-mining, C: natural forest, as reference site). The results of LFA showed similar pattern for stability index among locations. The highest stability index (> 60%) occured at land C. On the other hand, the post tin mining area, land A and land B have low stability index (less than 38%). The infiltration index, high (>59%) in land C, low (33-36%) in land A and B).The nutrient cycling index also showed a value comparable to the stability index of land and infiltration index. It could be concluded that the post tin-mining landshas critical landscape function.However, by planting trees for reclaiming the area gradually improved the function of the post tin mining landscape.

Stability analysis of backcross population for salinity tolerance at reproductive stage in rice

Significant yield reduction was recorded at flowering stage in rice varieties under salinity stress. But due to high genotype x environment interaction (GEI) the adaptability of the salt tolerant elite lines is generally poor. The identified source of tolerance, AC41585, was used in developing a backcross population. One hundred eighty BC3F4 lines were evaluated under stress (EC 8dSm−1) and non-stress conditions in net-house during the years 2012 and 2013. Under salinity stress plant yield was observed to be associated positively with the number of panicles/plant, panicle length, harvest index and negatively with the percentage of spikelet sterility and degeneration. Genotypes such as, L-41, L-45, L-112, L-171, L-192 with low IPCA and higher mean were identified with general adaptability through AMMI analysis. In addition, ‘which-won-where’ pattern of GGE Biplot detected L-192 and L-41 as highest performing genotypes in saline and non-saline environments, respectively. Both the analyses identified stable introgression line L-171 with high yield stability index having phenotypic similarity with recurrent parent, IR 64. The elite lines selected through the present study could be used in rice breeding and also to investigate the molecular basis of salt tolerance at reproductive stage.

Postural stability in Parkinson's disease patients.

The aim of the study was to analyze postural stability in Parkinson's disease patients. A total of 32 subjects were tested, including 26 (81.25%) women and 6 (18.75%) men. These were patients with advanced, idiopathic Parkinson's disease. The disease duration was over 5 years. The study was conducted in the Posturology Laboratory at the Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce (Poland). The Biodex Balance System was used for evaluation of postural stability. Postural Stability Testing was performed with both feet positioned on a stable surface with the eyes open. The Overall Stability Index in the whole group was 0.5°. The higher Overall Stability Index in women is indicative of slightly worse postural stability compared to men, although in both groups, it was within norms (Z = 2.0545, p = 0.0399). Anterior-Posterior Overall Stability Index (A/P) was an average of 0.35°. The Medial-Lateral Overall Stability Index (M/L) was an average of 0.27°. Both women and men were observed to have higher postural sway in the sagittal plane than the frontal plane. The vast majority of the subjects maintained in Zone A during testing (99.94%), and was slightly bent backwards to the right and in Quadrant IV (61.53%). Regular control of postural stability in Parkinson's disease patients is significant due to the risk of falls.

A well-defined poly(vinyl benzoxazine) obtained by selective free radical polymerization of vinyl group in bifunctional benzoxazine monomer

AbstractA heterobifunctional monomer, namely, 3-(4-ethenylphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,3-benzoxazine (VBOZN), which contains both vinyl group and benzoxazine group, was successfully prepared by three-step method with high purity and satisfactory yield. The chemical structure of VBOZN was identified by NMR, FTIR and elemental analysis. VBOZN selectively underwent free radical polymerization initiated by azodiisobutyronitrile to obtain homopolymer P(VBOZN) with Mn 4960 and Mw 11700. The benzoxazine-containing linear P(VBOZN) has Tg about 112 °C and shows better thermal stability than that of polystyrene. The P(VBOZN) was cured by heating without any catalyst and the peak temperature assigned to cationic ring-opening polymerization of P(VBOZN) centered at 244 °C. The molecular weight of P(VBOZN)could be improved dramatically by copolymerization of VBOZO with N-phenylmaleimide. Both homopolymer and copolymers show high stability and theoretical limiting oxygen index are near 30. P(VBOZN) and copolymers are not only new kinds of well-defined multifunction polymers with the potential of postpolymerization and/or chemical modification, they are also novel intrinsic fire retarded polymers.