Effects of aqueous extract from Asparagus officinalis L. roots on hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormone levels and the number of ovarian follicles in adult rats

Background: Asparagus is a plant with high nutritional, pharmaceutical, and industrial values. Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of asparagus roots on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormones and oogenesis in female rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 40 adult female Wistar rats were divided into five groups, which consist 8 rats. Groups included control, sham and three experimental groups receiving different doses (100, 200, 400 mg/kg/bw) of aqueous extract of asparagus roots. All dosages were administered orally for 28 days. Blood samples were taken from rats to evaluate serum levels of Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinal hormone (LH), estrogen, and progesterone hormones. The ovaries were removed, weighted, sectioned, and studied by light microscope. Results: Dose-dependent aqueous extract of asparagus roots significantly increased serum levels of GnRH, FSH, LH, estrogen, and progestin hormones compared to control and sham groups. Increase in number of ovarian follicles and corpus luteum in groups treated with asparagus root extract was also observed (p<0.05). Conclusion: Asparagus roots extract stimulates secretion of hypothalamic- pituitary- gonadal axis hormones. This also positively affects oogenesis in female rats.

Synergistic corrosion inhibition of mild steel in aqueous chloride solutions by an imidazolinium carboxylate salt

Mild steel infrastructure is constantly under corrosive attack in most environmental and industrial conditions. There is an ongoing search for environmentally friendly, highly effective inhibitor compounds that can provide a protective action in situations ranging from the marine environment to oil and gas pipelines. In this work an organic salt comprising a protic imidazolinium cation and a 4-hydroxycinnamate anion has been shown to produce a synergistic corrosion inhibition effect for mild steel in 0.01 M NaCl aqueous solutions under acidic, neutral, and basic conditions; an important and unusual phenomenon for one compound to support inhibition across a range of pH conditions. Significantly, the individual components of this compound do not inhibit as effectively at equivalent concentrations, particularly at pH 2. Immersion studies show the efficacy of these inhibitors in stifling corrosion as observed from optical, SEM, and profilometry experiments. The mechanism of inhibition appears to be dominated by anodic behavior where dissolution of the steel, and in particular the pitting process, is stifled. FTIR spectroscopy provides confirmation of a protective interfacial layer, with the observation of interactions between the steel surface and 4-hydroxycinnamate.

Removal of copper ions from aqueous solution by adsorption onto novel polyelectrolyte film-coated nanofibrous silk fibroin non-wovens

In this approach, polyelectrolyte film-coated nanofibrous silk fibroin (SF) nonwovens were prepared from the alternate deposition of positively charged polyethylenimine (PEI) and negatively charged SF using electrostatic layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembled technology. The composite membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The SF-PEI multilayer-assembled nanofibers (less than five layers) were fine and uniform with the fiber diameter from 400 nm to 600 nm, and had very large surface area and high porosity (more than 70%). The amino groups of PEI were proved to be deposited onto SF nonwovens, which granted the coated nonwovens with potential applicability for copper ions adsorption. The PEI films coated SF substrate showed much higher copper ions adsorption capacity than that of ethanol treated SF nanofibers. Adding the number of PEI coated could enhance the Cu²⁺ adsorption capacity significantly. The maximum milligrams per gram of copper ions adsorbed reached 59.7 mg/g when the SF substrate was coated with 5 bilayers of SF-PEI. However, the copper ions adsorption capacity had no obvious change as the number of PEI continued to increase. These results suggest potential for PEL film-coated nanofibrous nonwovens as a new adsorbent for metal ions.

Aqueous peptide-TiO2 interfaces: isoenergetic binding via either entropically or enthalpically driven mechanisms

A major barrier to the systematic improvement of biomimetic peptide-mediated strategies for the controlled growth of inorganic nanomaterials in environmentally benign conditions lies in the lack of clear conceptual connections between the sequence of the peptide and its surface binding affinity, with binding being facilitated by noncovalent interactions. Peptide conformation, both in the adsorbed and in the nonadsorbed state, is the key relationship that connects peptide-materials binding with peptide sequence. Here, we combine experimental peptide-titania binding characterization with state-of-the-art conformational sampling via molecular simulations to elucidate these structure/binding relationships for two very different titania-binding peptide sequences. The two sequences (Ti-1, QPYLFATDSLIK; Ti-2, GHTHYHAVRTQT) differ in their overall hydropathy, yet via quartz-crystal microbalance measurements and predictions from molecular simulations, we show these sequences both support very similar, strong titania-binding affinities. Our molecular simulations reveal that the two sequences exhibit profoundly different modes of surface binding, with Ti-1 acting as an entropically driven binder while Ti-2 behaves as an enthalpically driven binder. The integrated approach presented here provides a rational basis for peptide sequence engineering to achieve the in situ growth and organization of titania nanostructures in aqueous media and for the design of sequences suitable for a range of technological applications that involve the interface between titania and biomolecules.

Monodisperse aqueous microspheres encapsulating high concentration of l-ascorbic acid: insights of preparation and stability evaluation from straight-through microchannel emulsification

Stabilization of l-ascorbic acid (⌊-AA) is a challenging task for food and pharmaceutical industries. The study was conducted to prepare monodisperse aqueous microspheres containing enhanced concentrations of ⌊-AA by using microchannel emulsification (MCE). The asymmetric straight-through microchannel (MC) array used here constitutes 11 × 104 μm microslots connected to a 10 μm circular microholes. 5-30% (w/w) ⌊-AA was added to a Milli-Q water solution containing 2% (w/w) sodium alginate and 1% (w/w) magnesium sulfate, while the continuous phase constitutes 5% (w/w) tetraglycerol condensed ricinoleate in water-saturated decane. Monodisperse aqueous microspheres with average diameters (dav) of 18.7-20.7 μm and coefficients of variation (CVs) below 6% were successfully prepared via MCE regardless of the ⌊-AA concentrations applied. The collected microspheres were physically stable in terms of their dav and CV for >10 days of storage at 40°C. The aqueous microspheres exhibited ⌊-AA encapsulation efficiency exceeding 70% during the storage.

Preparation of monodisperse aqueous microspheres containing high concentration of L-ascorbic acid by microchannel emulsification

Monodisperse aqueous microspheres containing high concentrations of l-ascorbic acid with different concentrations of sodium alginate (Na-ALG) and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) were prepared by using microchannel emulsification (MCE). The continuous phase was water-saturated decane containing a 5% (w/w) hydrophobic emulsifier. The flow rate of the continuous phase was maintained at 10 mL h(-1), whereas the pressure applied to the disperse phase was varied between 3 and 25 kPa. The disperse phase optimized for successfully generating aqueous microspheres included 2% (w/w) Na-ALG and 1% (w/w) MgSO4. At a higher MgSO4 concentration, the generated microspheres resulted in coalescence and subsequent bursting. At a lower MgSO4 concentration, unstable and polydisperse microspheres were obtained. The aqueous microspheres generated from the MCs under optimized conditions had a mean particle diameter (dav) of 14-16 µm and a coefficient of variation (CV) of less than 8% at the disperse phase pressures of 5-15 kPa.

Hg2+ -selective fluorescent probe based on rhodamine 6G and its application in aqueous media

Based on rhodamine 6G, a highly sensitive and selective fluorescent sensor R6G1 for Hg2+ detection had been designed and prepared. It was synthesized through the well-known reaction that thiourea derivatives with amine could easily be transformed into guanidine derivatives with the promotion of Hg2+. By coordination with Hg2+, R6G1 exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity over other metal ions in aqueous systems. Furthermore, fluorescence titration experiments established the well-fitted linearity function of the fluorescent intensity with the concentration of Hg2+ in aqueous solution. The results showed that R6G1 provided high water solubility and high selectivity toward Hg2+ but no significant response toward other competitive cations and anions. It was suggested that the chemosensor would find its application in environmental field requiring rapid and accurate Hg2+ ion analysis.

Occurrence of anodic current and corrosion of steel in aqueous media under fluctuating cathodic protection potentials

Excursion of cathodic protection (CP) potential from the designed "safe" CP level resulting from various forms of electrical interference signals are observed rather frequently in industrial applications, in particular in the pipeline industry; however, the influence of such potential fluctuations on the corrosion behavior of steel under CP conditions does not yet appear to be fully understood. In this work, the effects of anodic transients that periodically shift the potential of a CP protected steel electrode from-1,200 mVAg/AgCl to-750 mVAg/AgCl on the corrosion of a steel electrode in aqueous media was investigated using square wave polarization. Anodic currents were measured that lasted for significant periods of time upon stepping the CP potential up to a less cathodic potential at various frequencies (1 h, 30 s, 10 s, 5 s, and 1 s). Part of such anodic currents is found to cause steel corrosion, and this is explained on the basis of understanding the Fe/H2O equilibrium.

Niobic acid nanoparticle catalysts for the aqueous phase transformation of glucose and fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

A family of bulk and SBA-15 supported peroxo niobic acid sols were prepared by peptisation of niobic acid precipitates with H2O2 as heterogeneous catalysts for aqueous phase glucose and fructose conversion to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). Niobic acid nanoparticles possess a high density of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites, conferring good activity towards glucose and fructose conversion, albeit with modest 5-HMF yields under mild reaction conditions (100 °C). Thermally-induced niobia crystallisation suppresses solid acidity and activity. Nanoparticulate niobic acid dispersed over SBA-15 exhibits pure Brønsted acidity and an enhanced Turnover Frequency for fructose dehydration.

Enhancement of the total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of aqueous Citrus limon L. pomace extracts using microwave pre-treatment on the dry powder

The effect of microwave pre-treatment on the levels of total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins and individual major compounds as well as the total antioxidant activity of the dried lemon pomace was investigated. The results showed that microwave pre-treatment significantly affected all the examined parameters. The total phenolic content, total flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, as well as the total antioxidant activity significantly increased as the microwave radiation time and power increased (e.g., 2.5 folds for phenolics, 1.4 folds for flavonoids and 5.5 folds for proanthocyanidins), however irradiation more than 480 W for 5 min resulted in the decrease of these parameters. These findings indicate that microwave irradiation time and power may enhance higher levels of the phenolic compounds as well as the antioxidant capacity of the dried lemon pomace powder. However, higher and longer irradiation may lead to a degradation of phenolic compounds and lower the antioxidant capacity of the dried lemon pomace.

Investigation of conformationally switchable biomolecular ligands at aqueous metallic interfaces.

An atomistic understanding was garnered through large scale molecular simulations, for the adsorption and interaction of reconfigurable hybrid biomolecule components at different aqueous metallic interfaces. This would allow for the development of future hybrid biomolecular ligands that could be used to synthesise novel and tuneable materials with unique electromagnetic properties.

Recovery of gold(0) nanoparticles from aqueous solutions using effluents from a bioremediation process

The use of biological processes with the aim of the recovery of gold from low-concentration solutions derived from leaching of secondary sources is gaining increasing importance owing to the scarcity of the primary resources and the economic and environmental advantages usually presented by these methods. Thus, the addition in batch and continuous processes of different solutions containing biogenic sulphide, which was generated by the activity of sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB), to gold(III) solutions was investigated for that purpose. In the batch experiments, AuS nanoparticles with sizes of between 6 and 14 nm were obtained (corresponding to 100% removal of Au(III) from solution) if the biogenic sulphide was generated in a typical nutrient medium for SRB, whereas Au(0) nanoparticles with sizes of below 8 nm were obtained (corresponding to 62% removal of Au(III)) if effluent from a SRB bioremediation process for treating acid mine drainage (AMD) was used instead. These results stimulated the development of a continuous process of addition, in which two sulphide-rich effluents, which resulted from a SRB bioremediation process for treating two types of AMD (from a uranium mine and a polysulphide mine), were tested. In both cases, Au(0) nanoparticles with sizes of between 6 and 15 nm were mainly obtained, and the percentage removal of Au(III) from solution ranged from 76% to 100%. The processes described allow the simultaneous treatment of AMD and recovery of metallic gold nanoparticles, which are a product with a wide range of applications (e.g., in medicine, optical devices and catalysis) and high economic value. The synthesis process described in this work can be considered as novel, because it is the first time, to our knowledge, that the use of effluent from a SRB bioremediation process has been reported for the recovery of gold(III) as gold(0) nanoparticles.