Effects of roasting and ultrasound-assisted enzymatic treatment of Nigella sativa L. seeds on thymoquinone in the oil and antioxidant activity of defatted seed meal.

BACKGROUND: Black cumin seeds (black seed; BS) contain various bioactive compounds, such as thymoquinone (TQ). Roasting and ultrasound-assisted enzymatic treatment (UAET) as pre-treatments can increase the phytochemical content in the BS oil. This study aimed to investigate the effects of pre-treatments on the TQ content and the yield of the BS oil and to profile the composition of defatted BS meal (DBSM), followed by evaluating antioxidant properties of the DBSM. RESULTS: The extraction yield of crude oil from BS was not affected by the roasting time. The highest extraction yield (47.8 ± 0.4%) was obtained with UAET cellulase-pH 5 (enzyme concentration of 100%). Roasting decreased the TQ content of the oil, while the UAET cellulase-pH 5 treatment with an enzyme concentration of 100% yielded the highest TQ (125.1 ± 2.7 µg mL-1 ). Additionally, the UAET cellulase-pH 5 treatment increased total phenolics and flavonoids of DBSM by approximately two-fold, compared to roasting or ultrasound treatment (UT) alone. Principal component analysis revealed that the UAET method might be more suitable for extracting BS oil with higher TQ content than roasting and UT. CONCLUSION: Compared to roasting or UT, using ultrasound along with cellulase could improve the oil yield and TQ in the oil from BS and obtain the DBSM with higher phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Flavobacterium inviolabile sp. nov. isolated from stream water.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic and non-motile bacterium, designated P2-65T, was isolated from Moonsan stream water in the Republic of Korea. The temperature, NaCl concentration and pH ranges for growth of strain P2-65T were 10-37 °C, 0.0-3.0% (w/v) and 6.5-8.5 with optimum growth at 25-30 °C, 0.0-1.0% and 7.0-7.5, respectively. Comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain P2-65T was closely related to Flavobacterium cauense (95.4%) and Flavobacterium cheniae (95.3%). The major fatty acids were iso-C15:0, iso C17:0 3-OH, summed feature 3 (C16:1ω7c and/or C16:1ω6c), summed feature 9 (iso-C17:1 ω9c and/or 10-methyl C16:0) and iso-C15:0 3-OH. The predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone-6 (MK-6). The major polar lipids detected in the strain were phosphatidylethanolamine, one aminophospholipid, one unidentified aminolipid and one unidentified polar lipid. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 39.7%. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values for strain P2-65T with closely related Flavobacterium species were below 74.8% and 20%, respectively. Based on polyphasic features, strain P2-65T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium inviolabile sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is P2-65T (= KCTC 62055T = NBRC 112953T).

Employment of gold-coated silver nanowires as transparent conductive electrode for organic light emitting diodes.

This study proposes a simple method of Au coating on silver nanowires (Ag NWs) transparent conductive films as the anode of organic light emitting diodes (OLED) to increase the work function of the film and thus enhance hole transport. We carefully engineer the process conditions (pretreatment, solution concentrations, and coating number) of the coating using a diluted HAuCl4 solution on the Ag NWs film to minimize etching damage on Ag NWs accompanying the galvanic replacement reaction. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy show work function increase of Ag NWs upon Au coating. OLED devices based on Au-coated Ag NWs show a lower turn-on voltage and higher luminance, compared with pristine Ag NWs device. Although the Ag NWs device displays poor efficiencies in the low luminance range due to a high leakage, some of the Au-coated Ag NWs devices showed efficiencies higher than those of the ITO device in a high luminance.

Bilateral dens evaginatus and associated cystic pathology: An unusual case report.

Dens evaginatus (DE) presents a clinical conundrum due to its fragility and propensity to cause pulpal and periapical complications. Clinicians should heed the presence of DE during clinical examinations and avoid unnecessary intervention.

Diagnosis and treatment of mixed salivary gland tumor previously diagnosed as cutaneous chondroid syringoma proximal to the oral commissure: A case report.

Subcutaneous tumors of the head and neck resembling cutaneous mixed tumors may be misdiagnosed pleomorphic adenomas of salivary gland origin. Physicians should consider salivary mixed tumors in the differential diagnosis for suspected cutaneous tumors.

Reactivated herpetic gingivostomatitis with secondary herpes-associated erythema multiforme and oral candidiasis post-COVID infection: A case report.

The presence and reactivation of oral lesions such as herpetic gingivostomatitis, erythema multiforme, and candidiasis in a COVID-19 recovered patient could be related to COVID-19s profound role in immune dysregulation or related therapies.

Study of Damage Prediction of Carbon Fiber Tows Using Eddy Current Measurement.

When manufacturing fiber-reinforced composites, it is possible to improve the quality of fiber steel fire and reduce the number of cracks in the finished product if it is possible to quickly identify the defects of the fiber tow. Therefore, in this study, we developed a method to identify the condition of carbon fiber tow using eddy current test (ECT), which is used to improve the quality of composite materials. Using the eddy current detection sensor, we checked the impedance results according to the condition of the CF tow. We found that the materials of the workbench used in the experiment greatly affected the ECT results, so it is necessary to use a material with a non-conductive and smooth surface. We evaluated the impedance results of the carbon fiber at 2 mm intervals using the ECT sensor and summarized the impedance results according to the fiber width direction, presenting the condition of the section as a constant of variation (CV). If the condition of the carbon fiber tow was unstable, the deviation of the CV per section was large. In particular, the deviation of the CV per section was more than 0.15 when the arrangement of the fibers was changed, foreign substances were formed on the surface of the fibers, and damage occurred in the direction of the fiber width of more than 4 mm, so it was easy to evaluate the quality on CF tow.

Phenolics in buckwheat hull extracts and their antioxidant activities on bulk oil and emulsions.

Buckwheat hulls are discarded as waste, although they have more phenolic compounds than buckwheat groats. The antioxidant activities of buckwheat hull extracts prepared with water, 50% ethanol, and 100% ethanol were investigated in bulk oil, oil-in-water (O/W), and water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. The relationship between the phenolic compositions of the extracts and their antioxidant activities in the three different lipid systems was also evaluated. Fifty percent ethanol extract had the highest total phenolic content (327 mg gallic acid equivalent [GAE]/g extract) followed by water and 100% ethanol extracts (211 and 163 mg GAE/g extract, respectively). The total oxidation rate (k) was not significantly different among the bulk oils added with the buckwheat hull extracts. However, in the O/W emulsion, the k was more reduced by the 50% and 100% ethanol extracts than by the water extract at the concentration of 100 µg GAE/g (2.9, 2.8, and 3.7 Totox/day, respectively). The k of the W/O emulsion was more reduced by the 100% ethanol extract than by the water and 50% ethanol extract at the concentration of 100 µg GAE/g (3.8, 4.7, and 4.5 Totox/day, respectively). Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the contents of phenolic acids and their derivatives were the highest in the water extract among the extracts, while the contents of flavonoid glycosides and methylated polyphenols were the highest in the 50% and 100% ethanol extracts, respectively. The results suggest that flavonoid glycosides and methylated polyphenols could be potential candidates for retarding the oxidation of the emulsion system. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Buckwheat hull extracts could retard lipid oxidation. Flavonoid glycosides and methylated polyphenols in buckwheat hull extracts may have an antioxidative effect on lipids. Thus, buckwheat hulls could be used as an antioxidant in lipid systems, as flavonoid glycosides and methylated polyphenols are properly extracted from buckwheat hulls.

Elucidation of an intrinsic parameter for evaluating the electrical quality of graphene flakes.

A test method for evaluating the quality of graphene flakes, such as reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene nanopowder (GNP), was developed in this study. The pelletizer was selected for a sampling tool, which enables us to formulate the flake sample as a measurable sample. Various parameters were measured from the pelletized sample in order to elucidate the best parameter for representing the quality of the graphene flakes in terms of their electrical properties. Based on the analysis of 4-probe measurement data on the pelletized sample, the best intrinsic parameter is volume resistivity (or volume conductivity) rather than resistivity (or conductivity). Additionally, the possible modification of a sample before and after the pressurization was investigated by electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. No significant modification was observed. The volume conductivity in the two types of the graphene was different from their individual conductivities by one order of magnitude. Based on the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy measurements, the volume conductivity of the graphene flake samples was governed by the oxygen content in the sample. Our achievements will promote the effective use of powder-type graphene products for further applications.

Charge-transfer interaction in single-walled carbon nanotubes with tetrathiafulvalene and their applications.

We observed that single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) was aligned in the presence of TTF This alignment was induced by a specific interaction between SWNT and tetrathiafulvalene (TTF), a well-known organic donor. The interaction between the two molecules can be explained by a charge-transfer, which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. The binding energies of S (2P1/2) and S (2P3/2) were shifted from 163.0 eV and 164.1 eV to 163.9 eV and 165.1 eV, respectively. In Raman spectra of the SWNT-TTF, three peaks of SWNT in radial breathing mode were also upshifted by 4-5 cm(-1). The charge-transfer interaction also contributed in modifying the electronic structure of SWNT and furthermore enhanced the electrical conductivity of SWNT. A more conductive thin film was fabricated using the SWNT-TTF Four-probe measurement revealed that the surface resistance of the SWNT-TTF film was reduced to 4.359 omega at room temperature while that of SWNT film was 6.894 omega. These results enable carbon nanotubes to be utilized more for practically for industrial applications in fabricating peculiar nano-sized building blocks.

Fabrication of color-tunable luminescent silica nanotubes loaded with functional dyes using a sol-gel cocondensation method.

Luminescent silica nanotubes SNT-2 (loaded with coumarion laser dye 2) and SNT-3 (loaded with anthracene laser dye 3) were prepared by sol-gel cocondensation of functional dyes and TEOS in a cholesterol-based organogel system. The emission colors of silica nanotubes were tuned by using different functional dyes. Interestingly, there is a great difference in PL spectrum of silica nanotubes loaded with functional dyes between ethanol and the solid state. In ethanol, a green light emission of SNT-2 and a bluish green light emission of SNT-3 were observed at 486 and 465 nm, respectively, because of the anchoring state between the dye and the tube, whereas in the solid state, strong blue light emissions of SNT-2 and SNT-3 were observed at 482 and 483 nm, respectively, because of the intense emission of the silica nanotube (SNT) itself rather than that of 2 and 3.

Formation of Au nanostructures through an alumina mask by laser-assisted deposition.

We report a new method to produce ordered arrays of metal nanostructures on substrates. The method employs a through-hole nanoporous alumina membrane as a mask that is attached onto the substrate, silicon in this study. The material of deposition, Au in this study, was provided by pulsed laser ablation of a target gold. At an early stage of the deposition, a significant portion of Au penetrated the alumina through-holes and formed an ordered nanodot array on the silicon surface. At the later stage, the through-hole deposition was blocked by the growth of Au film on the top surface of the alumina, so that the heights of the Au nanodots were limited to about 10 nm under current experimental conditions. Subsequent attempts to clean up the top surface of the alumina with a lower power laser illumination resulted in the formation of new nanostructures around the alumina pores, nanospheres, or nanorings, depending on the fluence of the laser and the duration of the cleanup. We will discuss the underlying mechanism of the formation of these nanostructures.

A study of positive charge effect on AFM anodization lithography using metal phosphate monolayers.

Monolayer films of metal phosphate were prepared by sequential adsorption of phosphoric acid (PA) and metal ions (Zr4+ or Ca2+). The monolayer formation was confirmed and characterized by ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nanometer-scale patterning on the self-assembled metal phosphate films has been achieved using AFM. The difference in AFM lithography on positively charged surfaces in the case of Zr4+ and Ca2+ ions was investigated and summarized. Since the presence of the positive charges allows electrons to move from a tip to a layer easily, the lithographic process initiates at a lower voltage in the layer of Zr2+ phosphate than in the layer of Ca phosphate or PA. Other lithographic results on metal phosphate layers were compared with those on a monolayer of PA.

AFM nanolithography on a mixed LB film of hexadecylamine and palmitic acid.

An evenly mixed Langmuir film of hexadecylamine (HDA) and palmitic acid (PA) was prepared on the air-water interface and transferred to a Si substrate for the fabrication of nano-sized patterns. Vibrational spectrum of the transferred film shows that all acid groups of PAs were deprotonated and amine groups of HDAs were protonated by an acid-base reaction. The effect of mixing ratios in atomic force microscopy anodization lithography on the mixed films was investigated in terms of the line width of the protruded pattern. While the line width fabricated on PA film was 221 nm, the width on the mixed film was reduced to 84 nm under the same lithographic conditions. It is believed that the phenomenon was originated from the mixed structure from the interaction of HDA and PA. The chemical composition difference caused by the presence of ammonium cation in resist resulted in reducing the line width fabricated in the mixed Langmuir-Blodgett film.

Predicting the chemical composition and structure of Aspergillus nidulans hyphal wall surface by atomic force microscopy.

In fungi, cell wall plays an important role in growth and development. Major macromolecular constituents of the aspergilli cell wall are glucan, chitin, and protein. We examined the chemical composition and structure of the Aspergillus nidulans hyphal wall surface by an atomic force microscope (AFM). To determine the composition of the cell wall surface, the adhesion forces of commercially available beta-glucan, chitin, and various proteins were compared to those of corresponding fractions prepared from the hyphal wall. In both setups, the adhesion forces of beta-glucan, chitin, and protein were 25-50, 1000-3000, and 125-300 nN, respectively. Adhesion force analysis demonstrated that the cell surface of the apical tip region might contain primarily chitin and beta-glucan and relatively a little protein. This analysis also showed the chemical composition of the hyphal surface of the mid-region would be different from that of the apical region. Morphological images obtained by the tapping mode of AFM revealed that the hyphal tip surface has moderate roughness.

Formation of lambda-DNA's in parallel- and crossed-line arrays by molecular combing and scanning-probe lithography.

With the combination of a molecular combing technique and scanning-probe lithographic patterning, lambda-DNA's were stretched and aligned to form line array structures on patterned organic monolayer surfaces. The pattern was generated by anodizing a silicon surface using scanning-probe lithography to implant a polar organic layer in the middle of a nonpolar layer. The molecule in the polar layer, (aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APS), has a -NH(3)(+) terminal group, which interacts strongly with phosphate backbone of DNA and provides a site for selective attachment of DNA. When parallel lines of APS were patterned, followed by combing along the lines, a single DNA was attached from the very top of each line and stretched along the line all the way to the bottom. The DNA-APS interaction was strong enough to withstand the second combing applied perpendicular to the first one. Thereby, the crossed-line array of DNA's was formed on the crossed-line array pattern of APS on a silicon substrate.