Increasing Ethanol Concentration Research Articles

Effect of Alcohol Addition to Sulfuric Acid on Efficiency for Formation of Anodic Alumina

Anodization of aluminum in electrolytes containing alcohols as an additive has been studied for improvement of coating properties such as corrosion and wear resistance, and hardness. The influence of the addition of alcohols on the pore arrangement in anodic alumina was also investigated. However, the essential understanding of the effect of alcohol addition is still insufficient. In this study, we used the sulfuric acid-based electrolyte containing various alcohols (e.g., methanol, ethanol, glycerol, and ethylene glycol) as an additive and investigated the effects of types and concentrations of alcohols on the efficiency for the oxide formation and the structure of the porous alumina. High purity aluminum sheets were used as a starting material and anodized at constant current of 100 A m-2 in 1.5 mol dm-3 sulfuric acid with alcohol concentration in the range of 0~50 vol%. The formation of porous alumina film on the aluminum substrate was investigated by measuring voltage transient. In the case of ethanol concentration less than 10 vol%, voltage-time curve shows the steady-state voltage of approximately 15.7 V. When ethanol concentration exceeded 20 vol%, the steady-state voltage obviously increased with increasing ethanol concentration. In sulfuric acid without ethanol addition, the surface layer of oxide film was excessively dissolved after anodization for 220 min. The film thickness was approximately 65 μm. While using sulfuric acid with 50 vol% ethanol, chemical dissolution of the outer surface was significantly suppressed and the film thickness increased from 65 μm to 70 μm at the same anodization time, i.e., the same electric charge. Even in other type of alcohols, chemical dissolution of oxide was suppressed, resulting in improvement of coulombic efficiency for the oxide formation. The variation of dissociation constant of the electrolyte by addition of alcohols might affect the chemical dissolution and formation efficiency of anodic film. K. Kuroda, M. Ozawa, J. Met. Finish. Soc. Jpn., 15, 3 (1965).Y. Li, M. Zheng, L. Ma, W. Shen, Nanotechnology, 17, 5101 (2006).

Effect of coagulation bath parameters on the morphology and absorption behavior of a skin–core filament based on biomedical polyurethane and native silk fibroin microparticles

This study investigates the effect of the constituents and temperature of a coagulation bath on the morphology and water absorption behavior of a skin–core filament, which has potential application in the field of controlled drug release, based on biomedical polyurethane (BPU) and native silk fibroin microparticles (NSFPs). BPU solution and BPU/NSFP blend solution were extruded from the cortex and core channel of a coaxial double injector into a coagulation bath with different constituents and at different temperatures to form filaments. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of the skin–core filament prepared by wet-spinning revealed that the addition of ethanol decreased the exchange speed between the solvent and non-solvent and led to the formation of micropores on the surface. Meanwhile, the interface between the cortex and core became pronounced and the water absorption capability of the filament decreased with increasing ethanol concentration in the coagulation bath. The high temperature of the coagulation bath also improved the exchange speed between the solvent and non-solvent; however, its effect on the morphology of the filament was weak. Thus, a skin–core filament with different morphologies and water absorption behaviors was fabricated by controlling the constituents and temperature of the coagulation bath during the wet-spinning process. This skin–core filament has potential applications in controlled drug release.

Silk Fibroin as a Novel Alcohol-Resistant Excipient for Sustained-Release Tablet Formulation.

Concomitant intake of alcoholic beverages with sustained-release oral formulations may potentially lead to dose dumping. Alcohol-resistance testing is currently a requirement for the manufacturers by regulatory authorities. Silk fibroin produced by silkworm Bombyx mori is suggested in this work as a potential alternative to a narrow spectrum of alcohol-resistant excipients. Oxycodone HCl, tramadol HCl, and flurbiprofen were selected as model drugs and formulated with regenerated silk fibroin either in the form of an amorphous solid dispersion or as a physical mixture and compressed into tablets. Preliminary compactability and tampering-resistance studies were performed. The ethanol-resistance was tested in media containing 5%, 10%, 20%, or 40% (v/v) ethanol concentration. Drug release profiles were compared using f2 similarity factor. Good mechanical tampering-resistance (tensile strength of 14.6MPa at 400MPa compression pressure) was obtained for tablets compressed from physical mixture. Tablets compressed from amorphous solid dispersion had lower tensile strength (2.2MPa) but showed chemical tampering-resistance to extraction by pure ethanol (7.1% of oxycodone HCl after 24h). Drug release is controlled predominantly by swelling and diffusion. With an increasing ethanol concentration in release medium, the tablets swelled less, resulting in a slower release. This trend was similar for all tested drugs and for both physical states formulations. No dose dumping occurred in the presence of ethanol; therefore, silk fibroin could be considered as an alternative alcohol-resistant excipient for sustained release application.

Simple flow system with in-line gas-diffusion unit for determination of ethanol employing hypsochromic shift of visible absorbance band of methyl orange

The effect of solvent composition on the uv–visible spectrum of methyl orange was investigated for application to the quantitative determination of ethanol. At fixed pH, there was a hypsochromic shift of the absorbance band of methyl orange with increasing ethanol concentration. Using acetate buffer at pH 3.40 the change of absorbance at 530 nm of a solution of methyl orange containing known concentrations of standard ethanol was measured to provide a calibration curve. In order to apply this method to the analysis of alcoholic samples, such as distilled spirits, blended spirits and liquid herbal medicines, a simple gas-diffusion unit coupled with flow system was employed to separate the ethanol from sample matrices. Using the gas diffusion-flow system and employing an evaporation time of 2 min, a linear calibration range of 5–45% (v/v) ethanol was achieved ((ΔA = (0.0078 ± 0.0002)x(ethanol, %(v/v)) + (0.040 ± 0.005)), r2 = 0.998). The limit of detection (3σ blank/slope) was 2.23% (v/v). The developed gas diffusion-flow system was applied to the analysis of colorless distilled spirits, yellow blended spirits and dark brown herbal medicines that are available in the local markets of Bangkok, Thailand. Validation of the method was carried out by comparing the results with analysis using gas chromatography. There was no statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level for all alcoholic samples analyzed.

Fungal pathogen and ethanol affect host selection and colonization success in ambrosia beetles

AbstractAmbrosia beetles exhibit broad host ranges but a narrow preference based on the condition of the host. Tissues infected by pathogens or containing ethanol can facilitate attacks by ambrosia beetles, although it still remains unclear how these factors interact.The present study aimed to examine how (i) chestnut logs infected with the fungal pathogenCryphonectria parasiticaand treated with ethanol (i.e. baited with ethanol lure, soaked in ethanol or untreated) and (ii) hornbeam logs soaked in different ethanol concentrations (3–12.5%) affect host selection and colonization success of ambrosia beetles.Ethanol‐soaked logs were more attractive toAnisandrus disparthan ethanol‐baited logs or untreated logs, although this difference was more evident in uninfected than infected logs. Increasing ethanol concentration in host tissues was differentially attractive toXyleborinus saxeseniiandXylosandrus germanus. A nonlinear relationship was also documented between ethanol concentration and emergence ofX. germanusadults.Overall, the results obtained suggest that the presence ofC. parasiticain chestnut logs can affect host selection in ambrosia beetles. In addition, the ethanol concentration in tree tissues affects host selection and colonization success, although the effect varies depending on the beetle species. This contrasting response could be a niche‐partitioning mechanism based on ethanol within host tissues.

Exploiting heterozygosity in industrial yeasts to create new and improved baker's yeasts.

The main aim of the work was to utilize heterozygosity of industrial yeast strains to construct new baker's yeast strains. Commercial baker's yeast strain ALKO 743, its more ethanol tolerant descendant ALKO 554 selected initially for growth over 300 generations in increasing ethanol concentrations in a glucose medium, and ALKO 3460 from an old domestic sour dough starter were used as starting strains. Isolated meiotic segregants of the strains were characterized genetically for sporulation ability and mating type, and the ploidy was determined physically. Heterozygosity of the segregant strains was estimated by a variety of molecular characterizations and fermentation and growth assays. The results showed wide heterozygosity and that the segregants were clustered into subgroups. This clustering was used for choosing distantly or closely related partners for strain construction crosses. Intrastrain hybrids made with segregants of ALKO 743 showed 16-24% hybrid vigour or heterosis. Interstrain hybrids with segregants of ALKO 743 and ALKO 3460 showed a wide variety of characteristics but also clear heterosis of 27-31% effects as assayed by lean and sugar dough raising. Distiller's yeast ALKO 554 turned out to be a diploid genetic segregant and not just a more ethanol tolerant mutant of the tetraploid parent strain ALKO 743.

Coordination of the Cell Wall Integrity and High-Osmolarity Glycerol Pathways in Response to Ethanol Stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

During fermentation, a high ethanol concentration is a major stress that influences the vitality and viability of yeast cells, which in turn leads to a termination of the fermentation process. In this study, we show that the BCK1 and SLT2 genes encoding mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of the cell wall integrity (CWI) pathway, respectively, are essential for ethanol tolerance, suggesting that the CWI pathway is involved in the response to ethanol-induced cell wall stress. Upon ethanol exposure, the CWI pathway induces the expression of specific cell wall-remodeling genes, including FKS2, CRH1, and PIR3 (encoding β-1,3-glucan synthase, chitin transglycosylase, and O-glycosylated cell wall protein, respectively), which eventually leads to the remodeling of the cell wall structure. Our results revealed that in response to ethanol stress, the high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway plays a collaborative role with the CWI pathway in inducing cell wall remodeling via the upregulation of specific cell wall biosynthesis genes such as the CRH1 gene. Furthermore, the substantial expression of CWI-responsive genes is also triggered by external hyperosmolarity, suggesting that the adaptive changes in the cell wall are crucial for protecting yeast cells against not only cell wall stress but also osmotic stress. On the other hand, the cell wall stress-inducing agent calcofluor white has no effect on promoting the expression of GPD1, a major target gene of the HOG pathway. Collectively, these findings suggest that during ethanol stress, the CWI and HOG pathways collaboratively regulate the transcription of specific cell wall biosynthesis genes, thereby leading to adaptive changes in the cell wall.IMPORTANCE The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been widely used in industrial fermentations, including the production of alcoholic beverages and bioethanol. During fermentation, an increased ethanol concentration is the main stress that affects yeast metabolism and inhibits ethanol production. This work presents evidence that in response to ethanol stress, both CWI and HOG pathways cooperate to control the expression of cell wall-remodeling genes in order to build the adaptive strength of the cell wall. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptive responses and tolerance of yeast to ethanol stress, which is essential for successful engineering of yeast strains for improved ethanol tolerance.

피톤치드패드와 유황패드를 사용한 포도저장 시 품질특성 연구

In order to study the shelf life of grapes, appearance, weight loss, shattering rate, pH, titratable acidity, sugar content, color, free sugar, organic acid, and ethanol contents of grapes grown in were measured for 12 days of storage at room temperature by treatments with phytoncide pads derived from pine tree (phytoncide pad 1 and phytoncide pad 2) and a sulfur dioxide pad as well as a control group with pad only. As the storage period increased, the color of the sulfur dioxide pad changed to red. The weight reduction rate significantly increased by the sulfur dioxide pad treatment and the lowest weight reduction rate was obtained by the phytoncide 2 treatment. The percentage of the highest shattering rate was determined on the 12th day of storage in the control. Moreover, the sulfur dioxide pad treatment was carried out at the lowest pH, and the phytoncide 2 treatment at the highest pH. Titratable acidity increased until the 6th day of storage, but decreased at the 12th day for both treatments. The sugar content decreased with increasing storage period, and the control group showed the highest decrease with 13.13-13.50 °Brix on the 12th storage day. The L and a value were increased in the sulfur dioxide pad treatment, and the b value increased in all treatments except the phytoncide pad 2 treatment at the 12th day of storage. Fructose content was 56,805.88-67,157.12 mg/L on the 12th day of storage. In the phytoncide pad 1 treatment, it showed a low decrease in fructose content during the storage period. A similar decrease in the content of tartaric acid, which is the highest content in the organic acids of grapes, was observed in all treatments except in the control. The lowest increase in ethanol content was observed in the phytoncide pad 2 treatment during the storage period. Therefore, grapes were better preserved by the phytoncide pad 2 treatment at room temperature than that by using conventional sulfite pads.

Volatile profile of reduced alcohol wines fermented with selected non-Saccharomyces yeasts under different aeration conditions

Over the last decades there has been an increase in ethanol concentration in wine. High ethanol concentration may impact negatively wine flavor and can be associated with harmful effects on human health. In this study, we investigated a microbiological approach to reduce wine ethanol concentration, using three non-Saccharomyces yeast strains (Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Torulaspora delbrueckii and Zygosaccharomyces bailii) in sequential fermentations with S. cerevisiae under different aeration conditions. At the same time, we evaluated the volatile profile of the resulting reduced alcohol Chardonnay wines. Results showed that the non-Saccharomyces yeasts tested were able to reduce wine ethanol concentration when oxygen was provided. Compared to S. cerevisiae wines, ethanol reduction was 1.6% v/v, 0.9% v/v and 1.0% v/v for M. pulcherrima, T. delbrueckii and Z. bailii sequential fermentations, respectively. Under the conditions evaluated here, aeration did not affect acetic acid production for any of the non-Saccharomyces strains tested. Although aeration affected wine volatile profiles, this was depended on yeast strain. Thus, wines produced with M. pulcherrima under aeration of 0.05 volume of air per volume of culture per minute (VVM) showed excessive ethyl acetate content, while Z. bailli wines produced with 0.05 VVM aeration had increased concentrations of higher alcohols and volatile acids. Increased concentrations of these compounds over their sensory thresholds, are likely to impact negatively on wine sensory profile. Contrarily, all three non-Saccharomyces strains under 0.025 VVM aeration conditions produced wines with reduced ethanol concentration and acceptable chemical volatile profiles.

Thermodynamic analysis of the pathway for ethanol production from cellobiose in Clostridium thermocellum

Clostridium thermocellum is a candidate for consolidated bioprocessing by carrying out both cellulose solubilization and fermentation. However, despite significant efforts the maximum ethanol titer achieved to date remains below industrially required targets. Several studies have analyzed the impact of increasing ethanol concentration on C. thermocellum’s membrane properties, cofactor pool ratios, and altered enzyme regulation. In this study, we explore the extent to which thermodynamic equilibrium limits maximum ethanol titer. We used the max-min driving force (MDF) algorithm (Noor et al., 2014) to identify the range of allowable metabolite concentrations that maintain a negative free energy change for all reaction steps in the pathway from cellobiose to ethanol. To this end, we used a time-series metabolite concentration dataset to flag five reactions (phosphofructokinase (PFK), fructose bisphosphate aldolase (FBA), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)) which become thermodynamic bottlenecks under high external ethanol concentrations. Thermodynamic analysis was also deployed in a prospective mode to evaluate genetic interventions which can improve pathway thermodynamics by generating minimal set of reactions or elementary flux modes (EFMs) which possess unique genetic variations while ensuring mass and redox balance with ethanol production. MDF evaluation of all generated (336) EFMs indicated that, i) pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) has a higher pathway MDF than the malate shunt alternative due to limiting CO2 concentrations under physiological conditions, and ii) NADPH-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPN) can alleviate thermodynamic bottlenecks at high ethanol concentrations due to cofactor modification and reduction in ATP generation. The combination of ATP linked phosphofructokinase (PFK-ATP) and NADPH linked alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-NADPH) with NADPH linked aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH-NADPH) or ferredoxin: NADP ​+ ​oxidoreductase (NADPH-FNOR) emerges as the best intervention strategy for ethanol production that balances MDF improvements with ATP generation, and appears to functionally reproduce the pathway employed by the ethanologen Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum. Expanding the list of measured intracellular metabolites and improving the quantification accuracy of measurements was found to improve the fidelity of pathway thermodynamics analysis in C. thermocellum. This study demonstrates even before addressing an organism’s enzyme kinetics and allosteric regulations, pathway thermodynamics can flag pathway bottlenecks and identify testable strategies for enhancing pathway thermodynamic feasibility and function.

Extraction of Anthraquinone Compounds from Chinese Chestnut by Using Ultrasonic-assisted Technology

Ultrasonic assisted method was used to extract total anthraquinone compounds from non-enzymatic Browning chestnut kernel. The chestnut was heated in the microwave on 640w by a stainless steel knife for 60 s. Then fried it by heating 120°C for 30 min method result in non-enzymatic until browning of chestnuts fully. The anthraquinone in Chinese chestnut was extracted by ultrasonic cleaner with frequency of 80 kHz and power percentage of 80%. The absorption value was measured and calculated at 254 nm by ultraviolet spectrophotometer. The effects of ethanol concentration, ultrasonic time, extraction temperature and liquid-solid ratio on extraction efficiency were studied. The effect level of different factors on the extraction efficiency of anthraquinone compounds was as follows: liquid-solid ratio>Ultrasonic time > ethanol concentration > extraction temperature. The extraction rate of anthraquinone increased and reached the hightest point when liquid-solid ratio was between 2/1 and 4/1, and it decreased as the liquid-solid ratio rise. The extraction rate of anthraquinone increased with the increase of ultrasonic time, which was the maximum when ultrasonic time was 30 minutes, and the extraction rate remained stable. The extraction rate of anthraquinone increased with the increase of ethanol concentration. The extraction rate reached the maximum when the ethanol concentration was 80%, and tends to be stable with the increased of the concentration. The extraction rate of anthraquinone was increased sharply before the temperature reached 60°C. And it maintained stable at the highest point between 60°C and 70°C. According to the regression equation and the single factor experiment, the optimum extraction technology were ethanol concentration (85%) ultrasonic time (35min) extraction temperature (60°C) and liquid-solid ratio was 4.5:1. The extraction rate of chestnut anthraquinones was up to 77.31μg/g dry weight.

Reduced Graphene Oxide-Supported Nickel(II)-Bis(1,10-Phenanthroline) Complex as a Highly Active Electrocatalyst for Ethanol Oxidation Reaction

The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is used to support nickel(II)-bis(1,10-phenanthroline) complex (Ni(II)(Phen)2), forming a catalyst Ni(II)(Phen)2/rGO for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). A pyrolytic graphite electrode modified by this catalyst shows excellent electrocatalytic EOR activity, characterized by physical and electrochemical methods. The electrocatalytic activity of the material was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The significant increase in EOR currents compared to the electrode modified with only (Ni(II)(Phen)2 complex demonstrates the promotion role of the rGO. It is believed that the interaction between Ni(II)(Phen)2 and rGO to create a synergistic effect of Ni(II)(Phen)2/rGO catalyst should be responsible for the observed enhancement of the catalytic EOR performance. Using the Laviron theory, the charge transfer rate constant (ks) and the electron transfer coefficient (α) of the electrode reaction are calculated to be 0.60 s−1 and 0.61, respectively. Both the effects of OH− and ethanol concentration on the catalyst EOR activity are also studied to obtain the diffusion coefficient of ethanol (D = 4.7 × 10−6 cm2 s−1) and the catalytic rate constant (kcat = 1.26 × 107 cm3 mol−1 s−1). Based on the experimental results, an EOR mechanism catalyzed by Ni(II)(Phen)2/rGO is proposed. The catalytic EOR peak currents exhibit a linear growth (behavior) with increasing ethanol concentration, suggesting the possible use of this catalyst material as a sensor for ethanol analysis. In addition, the obtained chronoamperometric curves confirm the stability of the catalyst. It is believed that this Ni(II)(Phen)2/rGO catalyst is a promising cost-effective alternative for ethanol oxidation reaction in direct ethanol fuel cells.

Design and Performance of Ethanol Purification Tests Using Poly Ether Sulfone Composite Membrane in The Membrane Pervaporation Process

The pervaporation process in the context of ethanol purification is a promising and rapidly developing technology. This is supported by various advantages possessed by pervaporation i.e. do not need additional chemicals, the process is simpler, and does not cause environmental pollution. The purpose of this research is to test the performance of pervaporation design and determine the optimal conditions in the ethanol purification process using a poly-ether-sulfone composite membrane with a coating of 3% alginate & 3% chitosan. This study used two treatments. The first treatment is the temperature of pre-heating in the feed section consisting of 63.64, 67.83, and 72.01 °C. The second treatment is a downstream pressure consisting of 41.325, 46.325, and 51.325 abs kPa. The process was carried out for 40 minutes with a batch system and ethanol feed concentration of 68.05% (w/t). The results showed the highest ethanol concentration was obtained at operating conditions pre heating feed 72.01 °C and downstream pressure of 51.325 abs kPa with ethanol concentration of 82.84% (w/t). The best conditions will be controlled using a non-coating composite membrane and the increase in ethanol concentration in the permeate section is 76.34% (w/t).

Impacts of gasoline aromatic and ethanol levels on the emissions from GDI vehicles: Part 2. Influence on particulate matter, black carbon, and nanoparticle emissions

Fuel composition plays an important role on the particulate matter (PM) emissions formation from gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines. In this study, the impacts of gasoline chemical structure and physical properties on the particulate emissions were assessed for a fleet of five Tier 3 compliant GDI vehicles. All vehicles were tested on eight fuels with varying aromatic and ethanol levels, as well as varying PM indices (PMIs) over the LA92 test cycle in at least duplicate on each of the test fuels. Our results showed strong, statistically significant fuel differences for the weighted PM mass emissions and all three phases of the LA92 cycle. The higher aromatic content fuels showed increases in PM mass and black carbon emissions that were statistically significant compared to the lower aromatic fuels. The fuels with higher PMIs showed an upward, but not statistically significant, trend for PM mass emissions with increasing ethanol content likely due to ethanol’s evaporative charge cooling effect. This observation does not hold true for the lower PMI fuels. Similar trends to the weighted PM mass emissions were also seen for the cold-start and hot-running PM mass emissions, as well as for the weighted black carbon emissions, indicating a possible ethanol reinforcing effect on PM formation for the high PMI fuels. Total and solid particle number emissions also showed increases with the higher aromatic fuels compared to the lower aromatic fuels. Similar to PM mass, both total and solid particle number emissions demonstrated an upward trend for the high PMI fuels with an increase in ethanol content. While the study is consistent with other studies showing that increasing aromatics and PMI values lead to higher PM emissions, the results also suggest that this relationship is complicated by the presence of varying levels of ethanol in high aromatic and PMI fuels, where increasing levels of ethanol in these fuels can also lead to PM increases. High molecular weight and low volatility hydrocarbon species (especially aromatics) also strongly impacted particulate emissions formation in GDI vehicles.

Analysis of the tendency for the electronic conductivity to change during alcoholic fermentation

The observation that the electronic conductivity begins to decease and then increases during alcoholic fermentation was first discovered in our work. To explain the tendency experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of the reducing sugar concentration, ethanol concentration, cell density, pH and ionic concentration. The results showed that the ionic concentration, reducing sugar concentration, cell concentration, pH and especially the ethanol concentration caused a change of the electronic conductivity. From 0 h to 60 h, the ethanol concentration had a significant negative correlation with the conductivity, which decreased with increasing ethanol concentration during fermentation. From 60 h to 68 h, when the ethanol concentration remained unchanged, the total ionic concentration had a significant positive correlation with the electronic conductivity, which increased with increasing ionic concentration (pH value decreases, cell autolysis). Thus, when the electronic conductivity reached its lowest point, the alcoholic content was the greatest. We concluded that it is feasible to directly reflect the change of the ethanol concentration using the change of the electronic conductivity by constructing a mathematical model. The results of this model could be applied for the completely on-line monitoring of the alcoholic fermentation process and for determining the end point of fermentation.

Study on the effect of ethanol content on the fire risk of nitrocellulose

Obtaining the burning properties of nitrocellulose with different ethanol contents is necessary to reduce the possibility of nitrocellulose accidents in the process of handing, storage and usage. In this study, the effect of humectant content on the burning properties of NC was tested by the ISO 5660 Cone Calorimeter Test. It was noted that the amount of the ethanol content had little effect on the ignition time of nitrocellulose mixture. Both the maximum mass loss rate and the average mass loss rate of the sample decreased with an increasing ethanol content and gradually closed to fixed values. Also, it was concluded that the peak heat release rate of the sample was mainly contributed by the nitrocellulose component.

RNA-seq transcriptomic analysis of green tea polyphenols regulation of differently expressed genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under ethanol stress.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been widely used to produce alcoholic beverages and bio-fuels; however, its performance is remarkably compromised by the increased ethanol concentration during the fermentation process. In this study, RNA-sequence analysis was used to investigate the protective effect of green tea polyphenols (GTP) on S. cerevisiae cells from ethanol-induced damage. GO and KEGG analysis showed that to deal with the stress of ethanol, large amounts of genes related to cell wall, cell membrane, basic metabolismand redox regulation were significantly differentially expressed (P < 0.05), while these undesired changes could be partly relieved by administration of GTP, suggesting its potential to enhance the ethanol tolerance of S. cerevisiae. The present study provided a global view of the transcriptomic changes of S. cerevisiae in response to the accumulation of ethanol and the treatment of GTP, which might deepen our understanding about S. cerevisiae and the fermentation process, and thus benefit the development of the bioethanol production industry.

The impact of the particle size of curcumin nanocarriers and the ethanol on beta_1-integrin overexpression in fibroblasts: A regenerative pharmaceutical approach in skin repair and anti-aging formulations.

Since women pay more attention to their skin's health, pharmaceutical companies invest heavily on skin care product development. Further, the success of drug nano-carriers in passing through the skin justifies the need to conduct studies at the nano-scale. β1-integrin down regulation has been proposed as a sign of skin aging. Six drug nano-carriers (50 and 75nm) were prepared at three ethanol concentrations (0, 3,and 5%) and different temperatures. Then, the impact of Nanocarriers on fibroblasts were investigated. DLS showed that increasing ethanol concentration decreased the surface tension that caused a decrease in the particle size in non-temperature formulations while increasing the temperature to 60°C to lower Gibbs free energy increased the particle size. Ethanol addition decreased β1-integrin over-expression, whereas larger nano-carriers induced an over-expression of β1-integrin, Bcl2/Bax ratio, and an increase in live cell number. β1-integrin over-expression did not correlate with the rate of fibroblast proliferation and NFκB expression. An increase in fibroblast mortality in relation to smaller nano-carriers was not only due to the increase in Bax ratio, but was related to NFκB over-expression. The development of a regenerative pharmaceutical approach in skin repair was based on the effect of particle size and ethanol concentration of the drug nano-carriers on the expression of β1-integrin in fibroblasts. A curcumin nanoformulation sized 77nm and containing of 3% ethanol was more effective in increasing β1-integrin gene over-expression, anti-apoptosis of fibroblast cells (Bcl2/Bax ratio), and in decreasing Bax and NFκB gene expression than that with a particle size of 50nm. Such a formulation may be considered a valuable candidate in anti-aging and wound-healing formulations. Graphical abstract The effect of particle size on Bcl2/Bax ratio and NFκ-B gene expression through the cell surface receptor of ß1- integrin. Bigger nanocarriers induce over-expression of integrin ß1 gene and also lead to an increase in Bcl2/Bax ratio along with a decrease in NFκ-B, unlike the smaller nanocarriers.

Pressure Effect in Droplet Combustion of Blended Fuel on Ethanol and Kemiri Sunan (Reutealis Trisperma (Blanco) Airy Shaw) Biodiesel

Bio oil from seeds of Kemiri Sunan (reutealis trisperma (Blanco) airy shaw) plant is particularly attractive to be studied since its high potential as alternative of biodiesel. This paper describes the results of a fundamental study of the combustion characteristics of a single droplet of blended fuel of Kemiri Sunan (reutealis trisperma (Blanco) airy shaw) biodiesel and ethanol in various levels of ambient pressure. The ambient pressures of the burning chamber were varied at 1, 3, and 5 bars. The fuels were prepared by mixing the biodiesel with the ethanol at concentrations of 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% vol/vol. The single droplets of blended fuels were suspended using micro-syringe on a tip of the thermocouple. It was ignited and combusted using an electrical heater. The ignition and combustion processes of the single droplets were recorded using a high-speed camera. It was found that the ignition delay of the droplet decrease with the increase of ambient pressure and the concentration of ethanol in blended fuels. Also, the burning rate of blended droplets increased with increasing biodiesel concentration and pressure. The maximum droplet temperature slightly increased during the combustion with the increasing ethanol concentration, but not with increasing ambient pressure.

Changes in Microenvironment Modulate the B- to A-DNA Transition.

B- to A-DNA transition is known to be sensitive to the macroscopic properties of the solution, such as salt and ethanol concentrations. Microenvironmental effects on DNA conformational transition have been broadly studied. Providing an intuitive picture of how DNA responds to environmental changes is, however, still needed. Analyzing the chemical equilibrium of B-to-A DNA transition at critical concentrations, employing explicit-solvent simulations, is envisioned to help understand such microenvironmental effects. In the present study, free-energy calculations characterizing the B- to A-DNA transition and the distribution of cations were carried out in solvents with different ethanol concentrations. With the addition of ethanol, the most stable structure of DNA changes from the B- to A-form, in agreement with previous experimental observation. In 60% ethanol, a chemical equilibrium is found, showing reversible transition between B- and A-DNA. Analysis of the microenvironment around DNA suggests that with the increase of ethanol concentration, the cations exhibit a significant tendency to move toward the backbone, and mobility of water molecules around the major groove and backbone decreases gradually, leading eventually to a B-to-A transition. The present results provide a free-energy view of DNA microenvironment and of the role of cation motion in the conformational transition.