The Effect of Ultrasonic Treatment on the Binding of the Inclusion Complex β-Cyclodextrin-peppermint Oil with Cellulose Material

The purpose of the research was to measure the increase in the binding of inclusion complexes β-cyclodextrin-peppermint oil (β-CD_PM) to cellulose in cotton and cotton/polyester material with BTCA as the crosslinking agent by applying an ultrasonic bath at room temperature and a frequency of 80 kHz for 10 min. After sonication, the samples were left in a bath for 24 h after which they were dried, thermocondensed and subjected to a number of wash cycles. The treated samples were analysed with Attenuated total reflection (ATR) units heated up to 300 °C (Golden Gate (FTIR-ATR)) to monitor chemical changes indicative of crosslinking, while physico-chemical changes in the samples were monitored by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR). Mechanical properties were measured according to EN ISO 13934-1:1999, and coloristic changes were evaluated by the whiteness degree according to CIE (WCIE) and the yellowing index (YI), while antimicrobial activity was determined according to AATCC TM 147-2016. The results show a physico-chemical modification of the UZV-treated cellulosic material. Moreover, partial antimicrobial efficacy on Gram-negative bacteria was confirmed for treated fabrics.

Effect of Carbonized Tangerines Prepared Using Plasma as Fertilizer: Case Study—Lettuce Farming

This study investigates the soil chemical changes and crop growth characteristics after treatment with carbonized tangerines prepared using plasma. To determine the effect of the carbonized tangerines on crop, four test plots were treated with chaff charcoal or different ratios of coco peat and carbonized tangerines. Lettuce was grown on the plots, and the chemical changes in soil and physical changes in the lettuce were observed. Chemical changes in the soil before and after the carbonized tangerine treatments were very similar to those before and after chaff charcoal treatment. Lettuce leaf length, width, weight, and count in carbonized tangerine-treated plots significantly increased than those in the untreated plot. Our results found that the carbonization of tangerines using plasma can be a good alternative for processing many by-products generated during cultivation. In addition, the possibility of using carbonized tangerines as biochar has been explored.

Strategies used to treat waste material for energy production on sustainable basis

In the developing world, traditional forms of energy are rapidly eradicated, and contribute freely to global concerns such as waste exposure and dangerous deviations in an environment. So, it is required to develop and used renewable or humorous energy resources for future. Every month, a huge amount of waste is generated and becomes the part of landfill or sent to less developed areas, and sometimes left untreated. It has significant environmental consequences for biological systems, and human well-being. Due to this, numerous new waste disposal plants have emerged and developed to generate energy from garbage dumps. Large amount of trash created each day for landfills causes numerous critical ecological effects. Various new approaches are accessible for changing waste materials into energy sources, going from exceptionally straightforward frameworks of discarding waste to more perplexing advancements fit. Waste can be converted into energy by using three possible strategies such as thermochemical, biochemical, and chemical changes. This article explores the impact of waste on environment, and how waste can be used to generate energy.

Monitoring the chemical changes in fingermark residue over time using synchrotron infrared spectroscopy

Degradation of fingermark residue has a major impact on the successful forensic detection of latent fingermarks. The time course of degradation has been previously explored with bulk chemical analyses, but little is known about chemical alterations at the micron-scale. Here we report the use of synchrotron-sourced attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) microscopy to provide spatio-temporal resolution of chemical changes within fingermark droplets, as a function of time since deposition. Eccrine and sebaceous material within natural fingermark droplets were imaged on the micron scales at hourly intervals for the first 6 – 12 hours after deposition, revealing that substantial dehydration occurred within the first 8 hours. Changes to lipid material was more varied, with samples exhibiting an increase or decrease in lipid concentration due to the degradation and redistribution of this material. Across 12 donors, it was noticeable that the initial chemical composition and morphology of the droplet varied greatly, which appeared to influence on the rate of change of the droplet over time. Further, this study attempted to quantify the total water content within fingermark samples. The wide-spread nature and strength of the absorption of Terahertz/Far-infrared (THz/Far-IR) radiation by water vapour molecules were exploited for this purpose, using THz/Far-IR spectroscopy. Upon heating, water confined in natural fingermarks was evaporated and expanded in a vacuum chamber equipped with multipass optics. The amount of water vapour was then quantified by high-spectral resolution analysis, and fingermarks were observed to lose approximately 14 – 20 µg of water. The combination of both ATR-FTIR and Far-IR highlight important implications for experimental design in fingermark research, and operational practices used by law enforcement agencies.

Management of Soil Acidity and Its Relations With Soybean Productivity in Brazilian Savanna

The soils of Brazilian Savanna, naturally, present acidity problems, making correction practices fundamental to ensure production. Even with so many years since the introduction of agriculture, some soil correction practices are still misused. Thus, the objective was to evaluate soybean yield and chemical changes in a Red Oxisol in the Brazilian Savanna with the use of limestone, associated or not with gypsum, applied superficially and incorporated by harrow and moldboard plow. The experiment was conducted under field conditions, in Rio Verde-GO, cultivating soybeans in the 2015/2016 and 2016/1017 harvests. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four replications, with treatments arranged in a 3 × 3 factorial scheme. The first factor refers to the application of superficial limestone and incorporated by harrow and moldboard plow. The second factor was the presence or absence of limestone and/or gypsum (0 + 0; 0.875 + 0 and 0.875 + 1.75 t ha-1). Plant height, number of pods per plant, productivity, pH, Al, CTC, Ca, Mg and V were evaluated, in soil depths of 0-0.2 and 0.2-0.4 m. In the 2016/2017 harvest, the characteristics of pH, CTC, V and contents of Ca, Mg and Al were influenced by the methods of application of limestone and by its use, associated or not with gypsum. There was an increase in pH on the soil surface with the use of limestone and on the subsurface with the use of limestone and gypsum. The moldboard plow provided increases in the contents of Ca and Mg in the soil in comparison to surface application. The moldboard plow incresed in soybean yield, in the second crop, with and without association of gypsum with limestone.

Estimation of thermodynamic stability of isoperiodic epitaxial structures whith GaInSbAs and GaInAsP solid solutions

The work studied the thermodynamic stability of GaInSbAs, GaInAsP heterosystems on different substrates. The isotherms of spinodal decomposition caused by chemical changes in the internal energy of the alloy and by elastic stresses at the layer-substrate interface are obtained with the model of quasiregular solutions. It has been found that elastic stresses lead to an expansion of the region of thermodynamic stability of isoperiodic solid solutions for GaSb substrates and a decrease in the critical temperature. The developed model can be using to selection of the technological modes and parameters of epitaxial growth.