Addition Of Water Research Articles

The Influence of Arabinoxylan of Different Molar Masses on the Properties of Rye Bread Baked by the Postponed Baking Method.

Rye grain is a good source of dietary fiber, phenolic compounds, vitamins, and mineral compounds. To prevent the staling process of bread, semi-finished bakery products are subjected to cooling or freezing, and this process is called the postponed baking method. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of rye arabinoxylans differing in molar mass on the properties of rye bread baked using the postponed baking method. The breads were baked from rye flour types 720 and 1150, without and with a 1% share of unmodified or cross-linked rye arabinoxylans (AXs). The molar mass of the unmodified AXs was 432,160 g/mol, while that of the AXs after cross-linking was 1,158,980 g/mol. The results of this study show that the 1% share of AXs significantly increased the water addition to both types of rye flour and dough yield, and this increase was proportional to the molar mass of the AXs used. It is shown that a 1% share of both AX preparations positively increased the volume and crumb moisture of bread baked by the postponed baking method. Cross-linked AXs proved to be particularly effective in increasing the volume and bread crumb moisture. Both AX preparations had a positive effect on reducing the bread crumb hardness of rye breads baked by the postponed baking method.

Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Computational Study on Microsolvated [B10H10]2- Clusters and Comparisons to Their [B12H12]2- Analogues.

Microhydrated closo-boranes have attracted great interest due to their superchaotropic activity related to the well-known Hofmeister effect and important applications in biomedical and battery fields. In this work, we report a combined negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum chemical investigation on hydrated closo-decaborate clusters [B10H10]2-·nH2O (n = 1-7) with a direct comparison to their analogues [B12H12]2-·nH2O and free water clusters. A single H2O molecule is found to be sufficient to stabilize the intrinsically unstable [B10H10]2- dianion. The first two water molecules strongly interact with the solute forming B-H···H-O dihydrogen bonds while additional water molecules show substantially reduced binding energies. Unlike [B12H12]2-·nH2O possessing a highly structured water network with the attached H2O molecules arranged in a unified pattern by maximizing B-H···H-O dihydrogen bonding, distinct structural arrangements of the water clusters within [B10H10]2-·nH2O are achieved with the water cluster networks from trimer to heptamer resembling free water clusters. Such a distinct difference arises from the variations in size, symmetry, and charge distributions between these two dianions. The present finding again confirms the structural diversity of hydrogen-bonding networks in microhydrated closo-boranes and enriches our understanding of aqueous borate chemistry.

Advancements in Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Impact of Nano-Additives and Ammonia-Based Strategies On Emissions

Abstract Our study investigates the impact of ammonia- and water-based nano-particulate additives on the combustion characteristics of Jet-A1 aviation fuel, using a 300-kW liquid swirl combustor. Experiments were conducted at two global equivalence ratios (Φ = 0.24 and Φ = 0.40), focusing on laminar flame speed (LFS) and flame properties through chemiluminescence imaging and modal analysis techniques. The primary objective was to understand how these nano-additives modulate flame dynamics and internal chemical reactions, alongside evaluating the environmental implications of combustion alterations. Results showed that integrating urea and water additives into the fuel matrix affected LFS, enhancing it at the lower equivalence ratio but having detrimental effects at the higher ratio. Modal analysis revealed a notable stabilizing influence on flame behavior, especially under leaner fuel conditions. The addition of water and urea influenced combustion chemistry and spray patterns, leading to more uniform sprays and more complete combustion. Chemiluminescence imaging demonstrated higher emission intensity of NH2* radicals compared to NH* radicals, varying with the global equivalence ratio. The data indicated a significant reduction in NOx emissions, particularly at lower equivalence ratios, accompanied by a slight increase in CO2 and CO emissions. This study highlights the potential of ammonia- and water-based nano-additives to enhance the combustion performance and environmental outcomes of Jet-A1 aviation fuel, with the trade-off of increased CO2 and CO emissions requiring further consideration.

Results from the InSight atmospheric imaging campaign

NASA's InSight lander monitored the Martian atmosphere while conducting its primarily geophysical investigation. Atmospheric imaging was used to study dust and ice at the site for over two Mars years in 2018–2022. An optical depth record, including dust and ice, was derived from systematic sky imaging in the mornings (for the first part of the mission) and evenings. Optical depths ranged from 0.5 to 1.9 but were typically under 1. Dust storms were seen at expected times in late northern autumn and early winter, including one shortly after landing, along with one late summer storm in January 2022. The optical depth record closely matched that of Curiosity, 600 km to the south, except for the expected additional water ice content during the aphelion cloud belt (ACB, spring to early summer). In addition to ice hazes, the ACB included discrete clouds, whose motion was tracked to show northeasterly to southeasterly daytime winds. While InSight recorded many meteorological vortices, no dust devils were seen, requiring that dust-devil occurrence was <10−3 times as common as during Spirit rover dust devil seasons.

Severity of Rolling Reconstituted High Moisture Barley on Ensiling Characteristics and In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation

Barley grain sources with variable kernel sizes makes adequate and consistent processing of kernels challenging. This study evaluated how the severity of processing for reconstituted high moisture (65% on DM basis) barley (RHB) affects ensiling characteristics and in vitro ruminal fermentation. Three independent sources of light (<630 g/500 mL) and heavy (>670 g/500 mL) barley were blended to create 4 sources of variable kernel sized barley (646 g/500 mL). Reconstituted barley was rolled through a roller gap width of 1.40 (RHBF), 1.86 (RHBM), or 2.31 mm (RHBC) and ensiled for 1 or 5 mo with dry rolled barley (DRB; roller gap width 1.86 mm) used as a control. The 1-mo RHB and the DRB were further evaluated using the artificial rumen technique (RUSITEC) to investigate the effects of severity of processing for RHB on ruminal fermentation, and gas, methane, and microbial protein production. Using a randomized complete block design (n = 4), 16 fermenters from 2 RUSITEC apparatuses were used to assess the 4 sources and 4 processing treatments. The addition of water increased kernel width before rolling and resulted in increased kernel length, width, and thickness for RHB relative to dry rolled barley. Increasing processing severity for RHB linearly increased kernel width. The percentage of fine particles (<1.18 mm) was greater for DRB than RHBF, but did not differ by processing severity for RHB. Dry matter, organic matter, and starch disappearance were not different between DRB and RHBF, but linearly increased with increasing processing severity for RHB. Fermenter pH tended to be less for DRB relative to RHBF. In conclusion, the reduction in fine particles with the addition of water for RHB may prevent a decline in fermenter pH and when processed to achieve the same PI using a smaller roller gap width, yielded similar DM and OM disappearance suggesting a lesser risk for low ruminal pH without compromising digestibility.

Estimating the cost-effectiveness of several reservoir evaporation suppression strategies: a case study

Reservoirs often experience significant evaporation, causing a reduction in productive water use and prompting calls to curtail the loss. While efforts to reduce evaporation have predominantly focused on improving efficiencies, there has been a comparatively limited exploration of the associated costs per unit of additional water yield. To address this, a unit reference value (URV) calculation approach was employed in a case study to compare the unit costs of this additional yield through various evaporation suppression methods. The evaluated techniques included chemical monolayers, shade cloth, and both hard and soft floating covers. The URV calculation factored in capital, operating, and maintenance costs over a 20-year term, specified water-saving efficiencies for each technology, and various environmentally driven evaporation and social discount rates. The resulting URVs were compared with those for raising the Clanwilliam Dam, a large-scale groundwater scheme and the URVs for desalination. Notably, monolayers emerged with the lowest URV, but their yield efficiency is severely compromised by their short lifespan and high susceptibility to wind. The URVs of shade cloth proved competitive with those of desalination but are practical only for relatively small areas. In contrast, floating hard and soft covers demonstrated higher per-unit water delivery costs than desalination due to more frequent capital equipment replacements caused by their faster wear and weathering. The findings suggest that current evaporation suppression technologies may be economically unfeasible for agricultural and even domestic water supplies. The URV calculation serves as a valuable tool for comparing the cost-effectiveness of diverse yield-additive strategies.

3D-Printed Meat Paste Using Minimal Additive: Assessment of Rheological and Printing Behavior with Post-Processing Stability

Printing foods in the desired shape with minimal additives and their stability after printing are the most important points for 3D food technology. In this study, the effects of water (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) and salt (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%) on the printability of meat paste were evaluated to achieve improved textural and rheological properties. The printing parameters were examined at every stage, starting from the line thickness of the printed product, until the final 3D printed product was obtained. Accordingly, meat printability determined using different ingredient flow speed (3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 5), fill factor (1.2%, 1.3%, 1.4%, 1.5%, and 1.6%) and distance between layers (1.2, 1.4, and 1.6 mm). Salt addition increased the firmness and consistency of the samples, while the viscosity, storage modulus, and loss modulus decreased with the addition of water. Considering the line thickness and outer length, the most appropriate shape was obtained with 10% water and 1.5% salt. The optimal ingredient flow speed, fill factor, and distance between layers at a constant printing speed (2500 mm/min) were 3, 1.2%, and 1.4 mm, respectively. Four-layer-infilled 3D-printed samples maintained their initial shape after cooking, regardless of the cooking method. However, only baked products maintained their initial shapes among full-infilled samples. Although water and salt have different functions in meat, the use of the appropriate ratio is necessary for 3D-printed meat-based products to provide printability and post-production stability. To sum up optimum parameters and road map for printing meat and meat products including leftover meats and low-value by-products were revealed.

Investigation of physical properties of microalgae‐pectin‐based bio‐composite with addition of pine needle for environmental application

AbstractPolymers and biopolymers have gained significance due to their applicability and use in industry reducing the negative impact of polymers based on petroleum. A possible solution for the conventional polymer's biodegradability is bio‐composites, which contain natural fibers or aggregates such as microalgae. Hence, microalgae biomass has a promising application to address the biodegradability issue of conventional polymers. In this study, Chlorella vulgaris biomass was mixed with pectin for control samples with glycerol as plasticizer. The mixture microalgae‐pectin‐glycerol, and the addition of pine needles was used to evaluate the tensile strength and compression of the bio‐composite. This bio‐composite showed a higher Young's modulus of 95.66 MPa for blend C2 and a higher strength with 20% of pectin concentration in the mixture. Additionally, the pine needle addition did not have a low effect between the compression results. On the other hand, analysis on elasticity showed that the full recovery of the bio‐composite happened after 10 min in all the blends. Also, the bio‐composite showed a slow release of nitrogen and phosphorous after 5 days of water addition, indicating an effective slow release for blend B for both nutrients. Water uptake capacity and loss of soluble material was studied using pullulan, chitosan, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide additives. These cationic surfactants demonstrated their potential for reduction of water solubility of the bio‐composite.

Hydrates of N-(Anthracen-9-ylmethyl)-3-(1H-imidazolium-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium Zinc(II) or Cobalt(II) 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate: Inter-conversions, assembling and utilities

Different hydrates [(H3anthraimmida)M(26pdc)2]⋅nH2O⋅mCH3OH {(M = Co; n, m = 4, 0 or n, m = 4.5: 0 or n, m = 2, 2 and M = Zn; n, m = 4, 0 or n, m = 1, 1.5) N-(anthracen-9-ylmethyl)-3-(1H-imidazolium-1-yl)propan-1-amommonium cation (H3anthraimmida), 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylates (26pdc)} of N-(anthracen-9-ylmethyl)-3-(1H-imidazolium-1-yl)propan-1-ammonium zinc(II) or cobalt(II) 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate were crystallized from solutions of same reacting components but each at different concentration. Among these hydrates, the ones having methanol also as solvent of crystallization were metastable, easily transformed to corresponding tetrahydrate. The crystals of the metastable hydrate of zinc complex (monoclinic) transformed to tetrahydrate (triclinic) by halving of unit cell dimension of the metastable form. This transformation was observed under an optical microscope in real time. The transformation of the metastable hydrate of the cobalt complex also resulted the corresponding tetrahydrate. In this case, the unit-cell of the metastable form was doubled than the unit-cell dimension of the corresponding tetrahydrate. The crystals of the metastable form of the zinc complex (monoclinic) transformed to the tetrahydrate (triclinic) though a top-down approach, whereas the crystals of the metastable hydrate of the cobalt complex underwent a bottom-up approach. Diffused light scattering studies have revealed that the average particle sizes of the metastable hydrate of the zinc or cobalt complex dissolved in methanol, were decreased or increased upon addition of water to the solution. The zinc complexes in methanol showed aggregation induced emission enhancement at 415 nm upon addition of water.

A Comparison Between Water Addition and CO2 Addition to a Diffusion Coflow Flame

ABSTRACT This work compares the effects of adding water vapor and CO2 as diluent to fuel for a diffusion flame at different ambient pressures. The approach of this research is to study numerically a methane diffusion flame with various amounts of water vapor and CO2 added to the fuel, and to compare the flame behaviors with various percentages of water vapor and CO2 content (0% to 65%). This work uses a coflow burner in the PeleLM numerical framework for simulating the flame and computing the combustion behavior. The flame was simulated with pressures of 1.0, 1.4, 5.7, and 11.1 atm. The results extracted and analyzed include temperature profiles at fixed heights and various species mole fractions compared with their values at an equilibrium state condition. The results show that most of the diluent impact does not involve changes in flame chemistry but primarily changes to heat release and heat capacity in the flames. The results also show that the diluent amount has a much larger impact on flame behavior than do changes in pressure.

Protein extraction from seaweed Saccharina latissima with deep eutectic solvents

Interest in seaweed as a sustainable source of protein is growing, and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a promising green alternative with proven efficacy in protein extraction. This work studies the selective extraction of protein towards carbohydrates from the brown algae Saccharina latissima using DESs. Eleven DESs based on choline chloride (ChCl) and betaine were tested for freeze-dried biomass. The four DESs with the best performance (ChCl:Oxalic acid, ChCl:2Urea, ChCl:2Levulinic acid and Betaine:2Urea:Water) were subsequently used to investigate the effect of temperature (20, 30 and 40 °C) and the addition of water (0 and 47 %) on the extraction process. Betaine:2Urea:Water at 1 h, 40 °C, and 47 % added water provided the highest protein recovery yield (10.6 %) while minimizing carbohydrate extraction (1.3 %). These results demonstrated similar protein recovery yields to a benchmark process using bead milling, but with better selectivity. Thus, this work provides a sustainable extraction method for the recovery of proteins from seaweed and open new alternatives combining both approaches.

Fundamental investigation of impact of water and TFA additions in peptide sub/supercritical fluid separations

The retention of three peptides was studied under analytical and overloaded conditions at different concentrations of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and water added to the co-solvent methanol (MeOH). Four columns with different stationary phase properties, i.e., silica, diol, 2-ethylpyridine and cyanopropyl (CN) columns, were evaluated in this investigation. The overall aim was to get a deeper understanding on how column chemistry as well as water and TFA in the co-solvent affect the analytical and overloaded elution profiles using multivariate design of experiments and adsorption measurements of co-solvent components. Multivariate experimental design modeling indicated that water had on average around five times higher effect on the retention than the addition of TFA. The results also showed that the retention increases with the addition of TFA and water to the co-solvent on all columns except the CN column, on which the retention decreased. When examining the effect of adding water to the co-solvent, evidence of a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)-like retention mechanism was found on the three other columns with more polar stationary phases. However, on the CN column water acted as an additive, decreasing the retention due to competition with the peptide for available adsorption surface. Adsorption isotherm measurements of the polar solvent MeOH showed that MeOH adsorbs much weaker on the CN column than on the other columns. Addition of TFA and water to the co-solvent substantially sharpened the elution profiles under both overloaded and analytical conditions. Adding a small amount of TFA (from 0 % to 0.05 %) to the co-solvent substantially improved the peak shape of the elution profiles, while further addition (from 0.05 % to 0.15 %) had only a minor effect on the elution profile shape. The reduced retention on the CN column could not be explained by TFA adsorption, which was very weak on all studied columns (retention factor, 0.05–0.15). One could therefore speculate that the ion-pairing complex formed between the peptide and TFA in the mobile phase, reduce the retention due to its reduced polarity. On the other columns displaying HILIC-like properties, the TFA probably just decreased the pH of the mobile phase, thereby promoting the partitioning of the peptide into the water-rich layer. Finally, peak deformation due to diluent–eluent mismatch was observed under overloaded conditions. This was most severe in the cases where MeOH adsorption to the stationary phase was strong and the peptides were only mildly retained. Adding 1,4-dioxan to the diluent resolved this issue.

NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF WATER ADDITION INTO INTAKE AIR IN MODERN AUTOMOBILES DIESEL ENGINES

In the present study, the effects of water addition into intake air (WAIA) on combustion, engine performance, and NO emission in diesel engines were investigated numerically. Here, Ferguson's thermodynamic-based zero-dimensional single-zone cycle model was used and improved with some new approaches for neat diesel fuel (NDF) and WAIA. After controlling the model's accuracy for NDF and WAIA, the effects of WAIA were first investigated in the Renault K9K diesel engine. For (5 and 7.5)% water ratios (WRs), effective power decreased by 4.26% and 7.37%, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) increased by 6.95% and 10.56%, and NO emission reduced by 12.43% and 16.39%, respectively. In the second application, the effects of (3, 6, and 9)% WRs on combustion, engine performance, and NO emission in the Renault M9R type diesel engine were investigated at 4000 rpm by using this developed model. For (3, 6, and 9)% WRs, BSFC increased by 0.97%, 3.39%, and 8.25%, and NO emission decreased by 10.31%, 17.66%, and 34.20%, respectively. For (3 and 6)% WRs effective power increased, and NO emission decreased significantly without considerable deterioration in the BSFC at 4000 rpm. Cylinder pressure values and heat release rate increased for (3 and 6)% WRs and decreased for 9% WR.

Analysis of NADES and its water tailoring effects constructed from inulin and L-proline based on structure, physicochemical and antifreeze properties

The structure, physicochemical and anti-freeze properties of natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) composed of inulin and L-proline (molar ratio of 1:11) were investigated. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy revealed extensive hydrogen bonding in the pure NADES system, and the addition of water weakens the hydrogen bonding interactions between the components. The smaller transverse relaxation time (T2) represents the stronger hydrogen bond strength, and NADES+40 % H2O exhibited a large T2 (71.68 ms). When 10 % water was added, the viscosity decreased from 3620 mPa·s to 1777 mPa·s, but the conductivity increased to approximately twice the original value. Furthermore, adding 10 % water lowered the glass transition temperature (Tg) of NADES by 5.6 °C. NADES+10 % H2O exhibited favorable thermal stability and freezing resistance, as evidenced by the fact that approximately 82.61 % of the ice crystals area <200 μm2 after 30 min of crystallization. The changes in the structure, physicochemical, and anti-freezing properties of water-tailored NADES are expected to enable the design of novel antifreeze agents.

Soft confinement of water in aliphatic alcohols: MIR/NIR spectroscopic and DFT studies

Here, we present the first examination of the state of water under a soft confinement in eight aliphatic alcohols including cyclopentanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol, 1-octanol, 1-decanol, 2-octanol and 3-octanol. Due to relatively large size of the aliphatic part, water has limited solubility in all studied alcohols. Water content in saturated solutions was determined by Karl Fischer titration and correlated with the spectroscopic data. This way, we determined the molar absorptivity of the ν2+ν3 combination mode. The effect of addition of water and temperature variation was monitored by ATR-IR and NIR spectroscopy. Analysis of the experimental results was guided by DFT calculations, which provided the structures, harmonic MIR spectra and binding energies of selected alcohol-water complexes.Our studies demonstrated that the state of water in alcohols is related to its solubility, which depends on structure of solvent molecules. The solubility of water in 1-alcohols decreases on increasing of the chain length, but for long chain alcohols this effect is less evident. More apparent solubility reduction appears in going from the primary to secondary alcohols. The effective shielding of the OH group in the linear alcohols is achieved when on both sides of the OH group are ethyl or longer substituents, while the shielding by methyl groups is less efficient. Water is much better soluble in the cyclic alcohols as compared with the linear ones due to better accessibility of the OH group.The soft confinement of water in aliphatic alcohols allows for flexible structural arrangements and interactions. Even at low water content, we did not observe free molecules of water. At these conditions, the molecules of water are singly or doubly bonded to the OH groups from the alcohol. Increasing solubility of water reduces the number of the free OH groups and leads to formation of water clusters. Obtained results allow concluding that in alcohols with sizable aliphatic part the molecules of water are confined in the vicinity of the OH groups.

The Effects of Steeping Temperature Variations on the Production of Pap (Akamu)

The effect of temperature variation on the nutritional quality of pap was studied using (AOCS) American Oil Chemists Standard Method. Pap ingredients were purchased from Amassoma ultramodern market, Bayelsa State. A thermometer was used to record an initial temperature of 80°C (Group A), 50°C (Group B) and 25°C a room temperature (Group C). After discarding the water, the cereal grains were carefully and independently cleaned with fresh water. An attrition mill was used to grind the wet grains, and the paste produced was mixed with 1000ml of purified water. A muslin cloth was used to filter the mixture’s slurry. After allowing the filter to stand for a full day, the supernatant was disposed of. In order to allow additional water to drain off, the newly created pap was wrapped inside a muslin cloth and left to stand for the following 12 hours. The proximate composition of the pap was investigated at the varying steeping temperatures. From the result it shows that the proximate composition of pap can vary depending on the steeping temperature used, it shows that the moisture content ranged from 25.51-27-52%, protein ranged from 7.79%-8.15, fibre ranged from 2.16% – 2.24%, lipid content ranged from 8.22%–13.10%, carbohydrate ranged from 48.16% – 50.60% as the steeping temperatures increased from 25-100°C. The study revealed that the steeping temperatures had an impact on the pH, moisture, fiber, and carbohydrate contents of the papa samples, but not on the lipid, protein, mineral, or nitrogen contents, which stayed mostly unchanged. In order to preserve the nutritious value of the food, it is advised that pap be produced and steeped at a lower temperature.

Comprehensive evaluation of physical properties and carbon dioxide capacities of new 2-(butylamino)ethanol-based deep eutectic solvents

Abstract The aim of this research was to assess the impact of the components of alkanolamine deep eutectic solvents (DESs) on the physical properties of those DESs and their carbon dioxide capacity. To achieve this goal, novel deep eutectic solvents were synthesized by using 2-(butylamino)ethanol (BAE) as the hydrogen bond donor (HBD), along with tetrabutylammonium bromide TBAB), tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC), or tetraethylammonium chloride (TEAC) as the hydrogen bond acceptors (HBA) at various molar ratios (1:6, 1:8, and 1:10). To confirm the presence of hydrogen bond interactions between the components Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy measurements were conducted. Furthermore, thermal properties, including melting points and thermal stability, of these deep eutectic solvents as well as key physical properties, such as density, viscosity, refractive index, and sound velocity, within the temperature range of 293.15–333.15 K and at a pressure of 0.1 MPa were examined. The effect of the molar ratio of HBA to HBD, the type of anion, and the length of the alkyl chain were studied and analysed in regard to physicochemical properties. In this work, the solubility of carbon dioxide in DESs derived from 2-(butylamino)ethanol, 3-aminopropan-1-ol (AP), and 2-(methylamino)ethanol (MAE) was measured. The highest CO2 capacity was found for TEAC:MAE 1:10 DES characterized by the shortest alkyl chain length in both HBA and HBD molecules, the highest amine content, and the lowest viscosity. Additionally, the effect of water addition on carbon dioxide solubility was explored. The results showed that the influence of water on CO2 solubility varies with the type of DES. In general, this work highlighted that DESs can serve as effective media for carbon dioxide capture, and their performance can be tailored by changing the type of hydrogen bond acceptor or donor, their molar ratio and by the addition of water.

Room‐Temperature Afterglow Nanostructures via Block Copolymer Self‐Assembly

AbstractMiniaturization of organic afterglow materials has shown promising application in biomedical and other areas. Current technologies, such as nanoprecipitation, mechanical treatment, and emulsion polymerization, lack the capability of facile control on the morphology and dimension of the miniaturized organic afterglow materials. Here we report the fabrication of organic afterglow nanostructures via block copolymer self‐assembly at room temperature. The fabrication is based on two‐component design strategy where hydrophobic luminescent emitters with small rate constants of phosphorescence decay or reverse intersystem crossing are designed as the first component. Amphiphilic block copolymers that can form spherical core‐shell micelles and worm‐like micelles with glassy hydrophobic cores are used as the second component. Upon addition of water into a dimethylformamide solution that contains the two components, the amphiphilic block copolymers self‐assemble into well‐defined nanostructures and accommodate the hydrophobic luminescent emitters in nanostructure's hydrophobic cores. After switching to pure water by dialysis, room‐temperature afterglow nanostructures have been obtained because of the excellent protection of organic triplets by the glassy hydrophobic cores. The afterglow nanostructures exhibit intriguing afterglow mechanism modulated by the types of luminescent emitters, controlled dimensions and morphologies by the structural parameters of the block copolymers.

Evaluation of adulteration in soy-based beverages by water addition using chemometrics applied to ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

The adulteration of soy-based beverages (SBBs) by adding water to increase profitability is a fraudulent practice that requires urgent solutions to ensure product integrity and consumer trust. Therefore, the use of infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) associated with chemometrics methods can be a quick and advantageous alternative to this problem. In this study, the one-class and multiclass methods applied to ATR-FTIR data to classify a set of 80 SBBs samples were used. The unequal dispersed classes (UNEQ), soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), data driven SIMCA (DD-SIMCA), and one-class random forest (OC-RF) methods were used for one-class modeling. Models were constructed using the non-adulterated samples as target class (TA) and the adulterated samples as non-target class (NT). The k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), dual class random forest (DC-RF), and dual class random forest with Monte Carlo sampling (DC-RF-MC) methods were used for multiclass modeling. For k-NN and PLS-DA, samples were organized into four classes (non-adulterated samples, adulterated with 5% v∙v−1, 10% v∙v−1, and 20% v∙v−1 of water). DC-RF models used the same class settings as one-class models. DD-SIMCA, PLS-DA, and DC-RF-MC showed accuracy of 100%. The results show the feasibility of ATR-FTIR and chemometrics models to identify adulterations by adding water.

Observed Changes in Extreme Precipitation Associated with U.S. Tropical Cyclones

Abstract Numerous recent tropical cyclones have caused extreme rainfall and flooding events in the CONUS. Climate change is contributing to heavier extreme rainfall around the world. Modeling studies have suggested that tropical cyclones may be particularly efficient engines for transferring the additional water vapor in the atmosphere into extreme rainfall. This paper develops a new indicator for climate change using the enhanced rainfall metric to evaluate how the frequency and/or intensity of extreme rainfall around tropical cyclones has changed. The enhanced rainfall metric relates the amount of rain from a storm over a given location to the 5-yr return period rainfall in that location to determine the severity of the event. The annual area exposed to tropical-cyclone-related 5-yr rainfall events is increasing, which makes it a compelling climate change indicator. Quantile regression illustrates that the distribution of tropical cyclone rainfall is also changing. For tropical storms, all quantiles are increasing. However, major hurricanes show large increases in their most extreme rainfall. This study does not attempt to make any detection claims (vs natural variability) or attribution of the observed trends to anthropogenic forcing. However, the sensitivity of the results to natural variability in tropical cyclone frequency was somewhat constrained by comparing 2 decades from the previous active era (1951–70) with two from the current era (2001–20). This comparison also shows that both the mean rainfall and the maximum rainfall associated with tropical cyclones are increasing over most areas of the eastern CONUS with the most significant increases from northern Alabama to the southern Appalachians. Significance Statement The purpose of this study is to analyze the changes in frequency and magnitude of extreme precipitation events associated with tropical cyclones with the goal of developing a new indicator for climate change. This is important because heavy rainfall and associated flooding is one of the primary causes of tropical cyclone destruction and fatalities, especially in inland locations away from where storms initially make landfall. Our results show that both the frequency and magnitude of extreme rainfall events from tropical cyclones have increased over the CONUS. The strongest storms (major hurricanes) also show more of an increase in extreme rainfall than storms of weaker intensities.