Kappa-carrageenan for benign preparation of CdSeNPs enhancing the electrochemical measurement of AC symmetric supercapacitor device based on neutral aqueous electrolyte.

This study presents the development of an electrochemical supercapacitor with a cadmium selenide nanoparticles (CdSeNPs) electrode utilizing a straightforward and economical method based on kappa-carrageenan (κ-CGN). The structural, morphological, and optical characteristics of CdSeNPs were assessed. Activated carbon (AC) and green-prepared CdSeNPs were easily mixed to achieve excellent electrochemical properties. The nanoelectrode (AC@CdSe) was tested in an aqueous electrolyte of sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) with a concentration of 1 Molar. Specific capacitance (Csp) for the AC electrode and the AC@CdSe electrode at 1 A g-1 was calculated to be 103 and 480 F g-1, respectively. Besides, the symmetric supercapacitor AC@CdSe/AC@CdSe device has a high specific energy of 52 Wh kg-1 and a maximum specific power of 2880 W kg-1, with a specific capacitance of 115.5 F g-1. With a coulombic efficiency of between 82 % and 100 %, the device continues to maintain excellent capacitance after 10.000 cycles.

Plasma levels of nerve growth factor in Egyptian autistic children: Relation to hyperserotonemia and autoimmunity.

Hyperserotonemia and brain-specific autoantibodies are detected in some autistic children. Nerve growth factor (NGF) stimulates the proliferation of B lymphocytes with production of antibodies and also increases mast cell serotonin release. This work was the first to investigate the relationship between plasma NGF and both hyperserotonemia and the frequency of serum anti-myelin basic protein (anti-MBP) auto-antibodies in 22 autistic children aged between 4 and 12 years and 22 healthy-matched controls. Levels of NGF, serotonin and anti-MBP were significantly higher in autistic children than healthy control children (P < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between NGF and serotonin levels in autistic patients (P < 0.01). In contrast, there was a non-significant correlation between NGF and anti-MBP levels (P > 0.05). In conclusions, serum NGF levels were elevated and significantly correlated to hyperserotonemia found in many autistic children.

Antioxidant activity of different extracts from the aerial part of Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori, from Jordan.

The antioxidant activities of methanol (M), ethyl acetate (E) and hexane (H) extracts from leaves (L) and seeds (S) of Moringa (Moringa peregrina) were evaluated using different model systems in vitro. Free radical scavenging activities were assessed by measuring the scavenging activities of leaves and seeds different polar extracts separately using ABTS, Hydroxyl (OH) and DPPH radicals. Effect of extracts on ferrous ions chelating ability and total antioxidant capacity were also investigated for each extract. In addition, total phenolics, flavonoids and flavonols content of Moringa leaves and seeds extracts were determined. The leaves methanol (LM) extract showed significantly the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50value of 5.3±0.2µ/ml), followed by leaves ethylacetate extract (LE) and seeds methanolic extract (SM) with IC50 values of 7.1±0.2 and 7.2±0.4µ/ml, respectively. LE extract showed the highest ABTS radical scavenging activity with IC50value of 49.1±2.7µ/ml, followed by LM extract with IC50value of 61.2±1.2 µ/ml, whereas the highest hydroxyl radical (OH.) inhibition activity was found for LM and SM extracts with IC50 values of 76.9±0.8 and 77.5±1.2µ/ml, respectively. The total antioxidant activity was the highest in LM, LE and SM extracts (294.3, 244.5 and 231.6µ ascorbic acid equivalent for 1mg extract, respectively). LM, LE and SM extracts at concentration of 100µ/ml showed the highest chelating activity against ferrous ions (98.4, 91.1 and 90.7%, respectively). All Moringa leaves and seeds extracts showed pronounced antioxidant activities in a dose dependent manner and the effects depend strongly on the solvent used for extraction. The results showed that extracts of both leaves and seeds of Moringa exhibit antioxidant potential suggesting that M. peregrina is a promising plant.

Stabilization loop of a two axes gimbal system using self-tuning PID type fuzzy controller.

The application of inertial stabilization system is to stabilize the sensor's line of sight toward a target by isolating the sensor from the disturbances induced by the operating environment. The aim of this paper is to present two axes gimbal system. The gimbals torque relationships are derived using Lagrange equation considering the base angular motion and dynamic mass unbalance. The stabilization loops are constructed with cross coupling unit utilizing proposed fuzzy PID type controller. The overall control system is simulated and validated using MATLAB. Then, the performance of proposed controller is evaluated comparing with conventional PI controller in terms of transient response analysis and quantitative study of error analysis. The simulation results obtained in different conditions prove the efficiency of the proposed fuzzy controller which offers a better response than the classical one, and improves further the transient and steady-state performance.

Antioxidant properties of methanolic extracts of the leaves of seven Egyptian Cassia species.

In the present study, antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts of the leaves of seven Egyptian Cassia species was investigated using two methods, the phosphomolyb-date method and 1,1 diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity method.· The results revealed that C. glauca is the most potent species and that the activity of other plant species decreases in the following order: C. grandis > C. nodosa > C. fistula > C. didymobtrya > C. occidentalis > C. sophera. Defatted methanolic extract of the most active plant C. glauca was subjected to fractionation using different organic solvents such as CHCl3, EtOAc and BuOH. Antixidant activities of the fractions were investigated and the results showed that ethyl acetate fraction possessed high activity. Total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations of each plant extract were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminum chloride. Correlation between radical scavenging capacities of extracts and total phenolic concentration was observed.