WorldWideScience

Sample records for ultrasound assisted oxidative

  1. Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization of bitumen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamal, Wan Mohamad Ikhwan bin Wan; Okawa, Hirokazu; Kato, Takahiro; Sugawara, Katsuyasu

    2017-07-01

    Bitumen contains a high percentage of sulfur (about 4.6 wt %). A hydrodesulfurization method is used to remove sulfur from bitumen. The drawback of this method is the requirement for a high temperature of >300 °C. Most of the sulfur in bitumen exists as thiophene. Oxidative desulfurization (ODS), involving oxidizing sulfur using H2O2, then removing it using NaOH, allows the removal of sulfur in thiophene at low temperatures. We removed sulfur from bitumen using ODS treatment under ultrasound irradiation, and 52% of sulfur was successfully removed. Additionally, the physical action of ultrasound assisted the desulfurization of bitumen, even at low H2O2 concentrations.

  2. Ultrasound-Assisted Oxidative Desulfurization of Diesel

    OpenAIRE

    Niran K. Ibrahim; Walla A. Noori; Jaffar M. Khasbag

    2016-01-01

    Due to the dramatic environmental impact of sulfur emissions associated with the exhaust of diesel engines, last environmental regulations for ultra-low-sulfur diesel require a very deep desulfurization (up to 15 ppm), which cannot be met by the conventional hydrodesulfurization units alone. The proposed method involves a batch ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAODS) of a previously hydrotreated diesel (containing 480 ppm sulfur) so as to convert the residual sulfur-bearing comp...

  3. Ultrasound assisted, thermally activated persulfate oxidation of coal tar DNAPLs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Libin; Wang, Li; Hu, Xingting; Wu, Peihui; Wang, Xueqing; Huang, Chumei; Wang, Xiangyang; Deng, Dayi

    2016-11-15

    The feasibility of ultrasound assisted, thermally activated persulfate for effective oxidation of twenty 2-6 ringed coal tar PAHs in a biphasic tar/water system and a triphasic tar/soil/water system were investigated and established. The results indicate that ultrasonic assistance, persulfate and elevated reaction temperature are all required to achieve effective oxidation of coal tar PAHs, while the heating needed can be provided by ultrasonic induced heating as well. Further kinetic analysis reveals that the oxidation of individual PAH in the biphasic tar/water system follows the first-order kinetics, and individual PAH oxidation rate is primary determined by the mass transfer coefficients, tar/water interfacial areas, the aqueous solubility of individual PAH and its concentration in coal tar. Based on the kinetic analysis and experimental results, the contributions of ultrasound, persulfate and elevated reaction temperature to PAHs oxidation were characterized, and the effects of ultrasonic intensity and oxidant dosage on PAHs oxidation efficiency were investigated. In addition, the results indicate that individual PAH degradability is closely related to its reactivity as well, and the high reactivity of 4-6 ringed PAHs substantially improves their degradability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization and denitrogenation of liquid hydrocarbon fuels: A critical review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ja'fari, Mahsa; Ebrahimi, Seyedeh Leila; Khosravi-Nikou, Mohammad Reza

    2018-01-01

    Nowadays, a continuously worldwide concern for development of process to produce ultra-low sulfur and nitrogen fuels have been emerged. Typical hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation technology deals with important difficulties such as high pressure and temperature operating condition, failure to treat some recalcitrant compounds and limitations to meet the stringent environmental regulations. In contrary an advanced oxidation process that is ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization and denitrogenation satisfies latest environmental regulations in much milder conditions with more efficiency. The present work deals with a comprehensive review on findings and development in the ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization and denitrogenation (UAOD) during the last decades. The role of individual parameters namely temperature, residence time, ultrasound power and frequency, pH, initial concentration and types of sulfur and nitrogen compounds on the efficiency are described. What's more another treatment properties that is role of phase transfer agent (PTA) and solvents of extraction step, reaction kinetics, mechanism of the ultrasound, fuel properties and recovery in UAOD are reviewed. Finally, the required future works to mature this technology are suggested. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Ultrasound-assisted oxidative process for sulfur removal from petroleum product feedstock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mello, Paola de A; Duarte, Fábio A; Nunes, Matheus A G; Alencar, Mauricio S; Moreira, Elizabeth M; Korn, Mauro; Dressler, Valderi L; Flores, Erico M M

    2009-08-01

    A procedure using ultrasonic irradiation is proposed for sulfur removal of a petroleum product feedstock. The procedure involves the combination of a peroxyacid and ultrasound-assisted treatment in order to comply with the required sulfur content recommended by the current regulations for fuels. The ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) process was applied to a petroleum product feedstock using dibenzothiophene as a model sulfur compound. The influence of ultrasonic irradiation time, oxidizing reagents amount, kind of solvent for the extraction step and kind of organic acid were investigated. The use of ultrasonic irradiation allowed higher efficiency for sulfur removal in comparison to experiments performed without its application, under the same reactional conditions. Using the optimized conditions for UAOD, the sulfur removal was about 95% after 9min of ultrasonic irradiation (20kHz, 750W, run at 40%), using hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid, followed by extraction with methanol.

  6. Ultrasound-Assisted Oxidative Desulfurization of Diesel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niran K. Ibrahim

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Due to the dramatic environmental impact of sulfur emissions associated with the exhaust of diesel engines, last environmental regulations for ultra-low-sulfur diesel require a very deep desulfurization (up to 15 ppm, which cannot be met by the conventional hydrodesulfurization units alone. The proposed method involves a batch ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAODS of a previously hydrotreated diesel (containing 480 ppm sulfur so as to convert the residual sulfur-bearing compounds into their corresponding highly polar oxides, which can be eliminated easily by extraction with a certain highly polar solvent. The oxidizing system utilized was H2O2 as an oxidant, CH3COOH as a promoter, with FeSO4 as a catalyst; whereas acetonitrile was used as extractant. The major influential parameters related to UAODS process have been investigated, namely: ratio of oxidant/fuel, ratio of the promoter/oxidant, dose of catalyst, reaction temperature, and intensity of ultrasonic waves. Kinetics of the reaction has been also studied; it was observed that the UAODS of diesel fuels fitted pseudo-first-order kinetics under the best experimental conditions, whereas values of the apparent rate constant and activation energy were 0.373 min-1 and 24 KJ/mol, respectively. The oxidation treatment, in combination with ultrasonic irradiation, revealed a synergistic effect for diesel desulfurization. The experimental results showed that sulfur removal efficiency could amount to 98% at mild operating conditions (70 ○C and 1 bar. This indicates that the process is efficient and promising for the production of ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuels.

  7. Ultrasound-assisted oxidation of dibenzothiophene with phosphotungstic acid supported on activated carbon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Liyan; Zhang, Yu; Tan, Wei

    2014-05-01

    Phosphotungstic acid (HPW) supported on activated carbon (AC) was applied to catalyze deep oxidation desulfurization of fuel oil with the assist of ultrasound. The sulfur-conversion rate was evaluated by measuring the concentration of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in n-octane before and after the oxidation. Supporting HPW on AC has been verified to play a positive role in UAOD process by a series of contrast tests, where only HPW, AC or a mixture of free HPW and AC was used. The influences of catalyst dose, ultrasound power, reaction temperature, H2O2:oil volume ratio and the reuse of catalyst on the catalytic oxidation desulfurization kinetics were investigated. The DBT conversion rate of the reaction catalyzed by supported HPW under ultrasound irradiation was higher than the summation of the reactions with HPW only and AC only as catalyst. With the increase of loading amount of HPW on AC, ultrasound power, H2O2:oil volume ratio and reaction temperature, the catalytic oxidation reactivity of DBT would be enhanced. The optimum loading amount of HPW was 10%, exceed which DBT conversion would no longer increase obviously. DBT could be completely converted under the optimized conditions (volume ratio of H2O2 to model oil: 1:10, mass ratio of the supported HPW to model oil: 1.25%, temperature: 70°C) after 9 min of ultrasound irradiation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Economic analysis of ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization

    OpenAIRE

    Anderson, K.; Atkins, M.P.; Borges, P; Chan, Z.P.; Rafeen, M.S.; Sebran, N.H.; van der Pool, E; Vleeming, J.H.

    2017-01-01

    Oxidative desulfurization is a method of removing sulfur from diesel fuel that has the potential to compete with conventional hydrodesulfurization processes in refineries. Ultrasound has been shown to greatly increase peroxide oxidation rates of sulfur compounds and can thereby enhance the technology. Through the use of conceptual design modeling, this article critically assesses a range of novel process options. Calculations show that the rate enhancement achieved by ultrasound can translate...

  9. Investigations in physical mechanism of the oxidative desulfurization process assisted simultaneously by phase transfer agent and ultrasound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhasarkar, Jaykumar B; Chakma, Sankar; Moholkar, Vijayanand S

    2015-05-01

    This paper attempts to discern the physical mechanism of the oxidative desulfurization process simultaneously assisted by ultrasound and phase transfer agent (PTA). With different experimental protocols, an attempt is made to deduce individual beneficial effects of PTA and ultrasound on the oxidative desulfurization system, and also the synergy between the effects of PTA and ultrasound. Effect of PTA is more marked for mechanically stirred system due to mass transfer limitations, while intense emulsification due to ultrasound helps overcome the mass transfer limitations and reduces the extent of enhancement of oxidation by PTA. Despite application of PTA and ultrasound, the intrinsic factors and properties of the reactants such as polarity (and hence partition coefficient) and diffusivity have a crucial effect on the extent of oxidation. The intrinsic reactivity of the oxidant also plays a vital role, as seen from the extent of oxidation achieved with performic acid and peracetic acid. The interfacial transport of oxidant in the form of oxidant-PTA complex reduces the undesired consumption of oxidant by the reducing species formed during transient cavitation in organic medium, which helps effective utilization of oxidant towards desulfurization. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization process of liquid fuel by phosphotungstic acid encapsulated in a interpenetrating amine-functionalized Zn(II)-based MOF as catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afzalinia, Ahmad; Mirzaie, Abbas; Nikseresht, Ahmad; Musabeygi, Tahereh

    2017-01-01

    In this work, ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) of liquid fuels performed with a novel heterogeneous highly dispersed Keggin-type phosphotungstic acid (H 3 PW 12 O 40 , PTA) catalyst that encapsulated into an amino-functionalized MOF (TMU-17-NH 2 ). The prepared composite exhibits high catalytic activity and reusability in oxidative desulfurization of model fuel. Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) is a new way to performed oxidation reaction of sulfur-contain compounds rapidly, economically, environment-friendly and safely, under mild conditions. Ultrasound waves can be apply as an efficient tool to decrease the reaction time and improves oxidative desulfurization system performance. PTA@TMU-17-NH 2 could be completely performed desulfurization of the model oil by 20mg of catalyst, O/S molar ratio of 1:1 in presence of MeCN as extraction solvent. The obtained results indicated that the conversions of DBT to DBTO 2 achieve 98% after 15min in ambient temperature. In this work, we prepared TMU-17-NH 2 and PTA/TMU-17-NH 2 composite by ultrasound irradiation for first time and employed in UAOD process. Prepared catalyst exhibit an excellent reusability without PTA leaching and loss of activity. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization of liquid fuels and its industrial application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zhilin; Ondruschka, Bernd

    2010-08-01

    Latest environmental regulations require a very deep desulfurization to meet the ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD, 15 ppm sulfur) specifications. Due to the disadvantages of hydrotreating technology on the slashing production conditions, costs and safety as well as environmental protection, the ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) as an alternative technology has been developed. UAOD process selectively oxidizes sulfur in common thiophenes in diesel to sulfoxides and sulfones which can be removed via selective adsorption or extractant. SulphCo has successfully used a 5000 barrel/day mobile "Sonocracking" unit to duplicate on a commercial scale its proprietary process that applies ultrasonics at relatively low temperatures and pressures. The UAOD technology estimate capital costs less than half the cost of a new high-pressure hydrotreater. The physical and chemical mechanisms of UAOD process are illustrated, and the effective factors, such as ultrasonic frequency and power, oxidants, catalysts, phase-transfer agent, extractant and adsorbent, on reaction kinetics and product recovery are discussed in this review. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Ultrasound assisted synthesis of nanocrystalline zinc oxide: Experiments and modelling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hosni, Mongia [Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux, LSPM-CNRS, Université Paris 13, 99 av. J.B. Clément, 93430 Villetaneuse (France); Farhat, Samir, E-mail: farhat@lspm.cnrs.fr [Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux, LSPM-CNRS, Université Paris 13, 99 av. J.B. Clément, 93430 Villetaneuse (France); Schoenstein, Frederic; Karmous, Farah; Jouini, Noureddine [Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux, LSPM-CNRS, Université Paris 13, 99 av. J.B. Clément, 93430 Villetaneuse (France); Viana, Bruno [LCMCP Chimie-Paristech, UPMC, Collège de France, 11 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Mgaidi, Arbi [Laboratoire de chimie minérale industrielle université Tunis el Manar (Tunisia)

    2014-12-05

    Highlights: • ZnO nanospheres and nanowires were grown using ultrasound and thermal activation techniques. • The growth uses forced hydrolysis of zinc acetate in diethylene glycol (DEG). • A thermochemical model was developed based on thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. • We estimate species distribution in the bubble in temperature range from 5000 K to ambient. • We propose a new mechanism for ZnO growth assisted by ultrasound irradiation. - Abstract: A fast and green approach is proposed for the preparation of nanocrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) via ultrasonic (US) irradiation in polyol medium. The process uses forced hydrolysis of zinc acetate in diethylene glycol (DEG). The protocol is compared to thermal activation under the same chemical environment. The activation method is found to be playing a critical role in the selective synthesis of morphologically distinct nanostructures. As compared to thermally activated conventional polyol process, (US) permits to considerably reduce reaction time as well as size of particles. In addition, the shape of these nanoparticles was changed from long nanowires to small nanospheres, indicating different reaction mechanisms. To explain this difference, a thermochemical model was developed based on thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. The model estimate species distribution in the bubble in temperature range from 5000 K to ambient simulating quenching process during bubble formation and collapse. Our results indicate the presence of high density of zinc atoms that could be responsible of a high density of nucleation as compared to thermal activation.

  13. Ultrasound assisted synthesis of nanocrystalline zinc oxide: Experiments and modelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosni, Mongia; Farhat, Samir; Schoenstein, Frederic; Karmous, Farah; Jouini, Noureddine; Viana, Bruno; Mgaidi, Arbi

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • ZnO nanospheres and nanowires were grown using ultrasound and thermal activation techniques. • The growth uses forced hydrolysis of zinc acetate in diethylene glycol (DEG). • A thermochemical model was developed based on thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. • We estimate species distribution in the bubble in temperature range from 5000 K to ambient. • We propose a new mechanism for ZnO growth assisted by ultrasound irradiation. - Abstract: A fast and green approach is proposed for the preparation of nanocrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) via ultrasonic (US) irradiation in polyol medium. The process uses forced hydrolysis of zinc acetate in diethylene glycol (DEG). The protocol is compared to thermal activation under the same chemical environment. The activation method is found to be playing a critical role in the selective synthesis of morphologically distinct nanostructures. As compared to thermally activated conventional polyol process, (US) permits to considerably reduce reaction time as well as size of particles. In addition, the shape of these nanoparticles was changed from long nanowires to small nanospheres, indicating different reaction mechanisms. To explain this difference, a thermochemical model was developed based on thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. The model estimate species distribution in the bubble in temperature range from 5000 K to ambient simulating quenching process during bubble formation and collapse. Our results indicate the presence of high density of zinc atoms that could be responsible of a high density of nucleation as compared to thermal activation

  14. Ultrasound-assisted HCl-NaCl leaching of lead-rich and antimony-rich oxidizing slag.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Rong Liang; Zhang, Xiao Fei; Tang, Shu Zhen; Huang, Ai Dong

    2015-11-01

    Lead-rich and antimony-rich oxidizing slag was subjected to regular HCl-NaCl leaching, with the experimental conditions optimized under which ultrasound was introduced. After only 15 min of ultrasound-assisted leaching, the leaching rate of Sb resembled that after 45 min of regular leaching. Ultrasonic treatment considerably elevated the leaching rates of Sb and Pb, and shortened the leaching time. With the decrease of particle size, the leaching rate of Sb and Pb increased gradually. Especially, as the particle size of the slag was greater than 0.217 mm, the ultrasonic leaching effects of Sb and Pb were significantly higher than that of regular leaching effects. The temperature exhibited great effect on ultrasonic leaching performance. As the temperature increased, the leaching rates of Sb and Pb increased step by step. In case the temperature was higher than 85°C, the increasing speed of the leaching rates for Sb and Pb tended to be slow. Increasing ultrasonic power could augment the leaching rate or accelerate the procedure till the same leaching rate. However, since ultrasound failed to energize the formation of new reaction pathways, the maximum leaching rates of Sb and Pb were determined by their phase compositions rather than by ultrasonic field. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Superoxide radical and UV irradiation in ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD): A potential alternative for greener fuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Ngo Yeung

    This study is aimed at improving the current ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) process by utilizing superoxide radical as oxidant. Research was also conducted to investigate the feasibility of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation-assisted desulfurization. These modifications can enhance the process with the following achievements: (1) Meet the upcoming sulfur standards on various fuels including diesel fuel oils and residual oils; (2) More efficient oxidant with significantly lower consumption in accordance with stoichiometry; (3) Energy saving by 90%; (4) Greater selectivity in petroleum composition. Currently, the UAOD process and subsequent modifications developed in University of Southern California by Professor Yen's research group have demonstrated high desulfurization efficiencies towards various fuels with the application of 30% wt. hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. The UAOD process has demonstrated more than 50% desulfurization of refractory organic sulfur compounds with the use of Venturella type catalysts. Application of quaternary ammonium fluoride as phase transfer catalyst has significantly improved the desulfurization efficiency to 95%. Recent modifications incorporating ionic liquids have shown that the modified UAOD process can produce ultra-low sulfur, or near-zero sulfur diesels under mild conditions with 70°C and atmospheric pressure. Nevertheless, the UAOD process is considered not to be particularly efficient with respect to oxidant and energy consumption. Batch studies have demonstrated that the UAOD process requires 100 fold more oxidant than the stoichiometic requirement to achieve high desulfurization yield. The expected high costs of purchasing, shipping and storage of the oxidant would reduce the practicability of the process. The excess use of oxidant is not economically desirable, and it also causes environmental and safety issues. Post treatments would be necessary to stabilize the unspent oxidant residual to prevent the waste

  16. Intensification of oxidative desulfurization of gas oil by ultrasound irradiation: Optimization using Box–Behnken design (BBD)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jalali, Mohammad Reza; Sobati, Mohammad Amin

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) of gas oil was studied. • The influences of the different operating parameters were investigated. • Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to find the best operating parameters. • An accurate correlation was developed for the sulfur removal. • Ultrasound-assisted desulfurization process was compared with conventional process. - Abstract: In the present work, ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) of gas oil as the feedstock with sulfur content of 2210 ppmw was investigated using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and formic acid as the oxidant and catalyst, respectively. The influences of main process variables such as sonication time (2–30 min), oxidation temperature (40–70 °C), hydrogen peroxide to sulfur molar ratio (10–50), formic acid to oxidant molar ratio (2–4), ultrasound power per gas oil volume (5.56–8.89 W/mL), and number of extraction stages (1–4) on the sulfur removal of gas oil were investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box–Behnken design (BBD) and single-factor experiments were employed. The best performance of UAOD process for gas oil was achieved at 50 °C of reaction temperature, oxidant to sulfur molar ratio of 46.36, formic acid to oxidant molar ratio of 3.22, sonication time of 19.81 min, and 7.78 W/mL as the ultrasound power per gas oil volume. The sulfur removal of UAOD process was evaluated after oxidation under the abovementioned conditions followed by (a) one stage extraction and (b) four stages extraction using acetonitrile as solvent. The observed sulfur removal was 87 for case (a) and 96.2% for case (b). The UAOD process was also compared with conventional ODS process. Considerable improvement on the sulfur removal was observed specially in lower reaction time in the case of using ultrasound irradiation in comparison with conventional mixing.

  17. Extraction of Dihydroquercetin from Larix gmelinii with Ultrasound-Assisted and Microwave-Assisted Alternant Digestion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuangang Zu

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available An ultrasound and microwave assisted alternant extraction method (UMAE was applied for extracting dihydroquercetin (DHQ from Larix gmelinii wood. This investigation was conducted using 60% ethanol as solvent, 1:12 solid to liquid ratio, and 3 h soaking time. The optimum treatment time was ultrasound 40 min, microwave 20 min, respectively, and the extraction was performed once. Under the optimized conditions, satisfactory extraction yield of the target analyte was obtained. Relative to ultrasound-assisted or microwave-assisted method, the proposed approach provides higher extraction yield. The effect of DHQ of different concentrations and synthetic antioxidants on oxidative stability in soy bean oil stored for 20 days at different temperatures (25 °C and 60 °C was compared. DHQ was more effective in restraining soy bean oil oxidation, and a dose-response relationship was observed. The antioxidant activity of DHQ was a little stronger than that of BHA and BHT. Soy bean oil supplemented with 0.08 mg/g DHQ exhibited favorable antioxidant effects and is preferable for effectively avoiding oxidation. The L. gmelinii wood samples before and after extraction were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the UMAE method is a simple and efficient technique for sample preparation.

  18. Ultrasound assisted synthesis of ZnO/reduced graphene oxide composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity and anti-photocorrosion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng, Yonggang; Ji, Junling; Chen, Dajun

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • ZnO/reduced graphene oxide composites were prepared by in situ growth with ultrasound assisted method. • A plausible formation mechanism of ZnO/rGO composites was deduced. • After hybridization with rGO, the photocatalytic activity of ZnO was improved and its photocorrosion was inhibited obviously. - Abstract: A method to improve the photocatalytic activity and suppress the photocorrosion of ZnO was developed by depositing ZnO nanoparticles onto the surface of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via in situ growth with ultrasound assisted synthesis. The optimum synergetic effect of ZnO/rGO composite was found at a weight ratio of 2% (rGO/ZnO). Compared with ZnO, the photocatalytic activities of ZnO/rGO composite for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and C.I. acid red 249 (AR249) aqueous solutions under UV light irradiation were increased by 8.6% and 14.7%, respectively. The improved photocatalytic activity was originated from the rapid separation of photogenerated electrons and holes on the interface of rGO and ZnO. The photocorrosion of ZnO was inhibited obviously after hybridization with rGO. Even after six successive cycles under UV irradiation, the photocatalytic activities of ZnO/rGO composite for MB and AR249 still retained 92.9% and 94.8% of that for the first cycling run, while that of ZnO obviously decreased due to serious photocorrosion. The photocorrosion inhibition of ZnO by rGO was attributed to the reduced activation of surface oxygen atom on the surface of ZnO.

  19. Preparation of magnetic Ni@graphene nanocomposites and efficient removal organic dye under assistance of ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Chuang; Guo, Jianhui; Yang, Qing; Tong, Lei; Zhang, Jingwei; Zhang, Jiwei; Gong, Chunhong; Zhou, Jingfang; Zhang, Zhijun

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Reduced graphene oxide/Ni microspheres, being prepared under ultrasound conditions, exhibit a better removal efficiency to decolorize RhB with ultrasonic-assisted decolorization process. - Highlights: • One-step synthesis of Ni@graphene microspheres under ultrasound conditions. • During the ultrasonic process, graphene oxide was reduced and Ni nanoparticles were formed and anchored on graphene sheets. • The products exhibit excellent performance for fast and efficient removal of dye contaminants. • The nanocomposites can be easily separated from solution by a magnet. - Abstract: In this article, we report a facile one-step synthesis of Ni@graphene nanocomposite microspheres (NGs) in hydrazine hydrate solution under ultrasound conditions. During the ultrasonic process, graphene oxide (GO) was reduced effectively under mild conditions and Ni nanoparticles were simultaneously formed and anchored on graphene sheets, which act as spacers to keep the neighboring sheets separated. The target products exhibit excellent performance for fast and efficient removal of dye contaminants, rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution, under assistance of ultrasound. Finally, the nanocomposites can be easily separated from solution by a magnet. Furthermore, higher content of graphene can be produced under sonication, which facilitates faster and more efficient removal of organic contaminates in the solution. The nanocomposites were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis.

  20. Preparation of magnetic Ni@graphene nanocomposites and efficient removal organic dye under assistance of ultrasound

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, Chuang; Guo, Jianhui; Yang, Qing; Tong, Lei [Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Special Functional Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Zhang, Jingwei, E-mail: jwzhang@henu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Special Functional Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (Australia); Zhang, Jiwei [Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Special Functional Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Gong, Chunhong [College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China); Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (Australia); Zhou, Jingfang, E-mail: jingfang.zhou@unisa.edu.au [Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (Australia); Zhang, Zhijun [Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Special Functional Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004 (China)

    2015-12-01

    Graphical abstract: Reduced graphene oxide/Ni microspheres, being prepared under ultrasound conditions, exhibit a better removal efficiency to decolorize RhB with ultrasonic-assisted decolorization process. - Highlights: • One-step synthesis of Ni@graphene microspheres under ultrasound conditions. • During the ultrasonic process, graphene oxide was reduced and Ni nanoparticles were formed and anchored on graphene sheets. • The products exhibit excellent performance for fast and efficient removal of dye contaminants. • The nanocomposites can be easily separated from solution by a magnet. - Abstract: In this article, we report a facile one-step synthesis of Ni@graphene nanocomposite microspheres (NGs) in hydrazine hydrate solution under ultrasound conditions. During the ultrasonic process, graphene oxide (GO) was reduced effectively under mild conditions and Ni nanoparticles were simultaneously formed and anchored on graphene sheets, which act as spacers to keep the neighboring sheets separated. The target products exhibit excellent performance for fast and efficient removal of dye contaminants, rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution, under assistance of ultrasound. Finally, the nanocomposites can be easily separated from solution by a magnet. Furthermore, higher content of graphene can be produced under sonication, which facilitates faster and more efficient removal of organic contaminates in the solution. The nanocomposites were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis.

  1. The ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction of rice bran oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khoei, Maryam; Chekin, Fereshteh

    2016-03-01

    In this work, aqueous extraction of rice bran oil was done without and with ultrasound pretreatment. Key factors controlling the extraction and optimal operating conditions were identified. The highest extraction efficiency was found at pH=12, temperature of 45°C, agitation speed of 800rpm and agitation time of 15min, ultrasound treatment time of 70min and ultrasound treatment temperature of 25°C. Moreover, extraction yields were compared to ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction and Soxhlet extraction. The results showed that the yield of rice bran oil at ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction was close to the yield of oil extracted by hexane Soxhlet extraction. This result implied that the yield of rice bran oil was significantly influenced by ultrasound. With regard to quality, the oil extracted by ultrasound-assisted aqueous process had a lower content of free fatty acid and lower color imparting components than the hexane-extracted oil. Also, effect of parboiling of paddy on hexane and ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction was studied. Both extraction methods gives higher percentage of oil from par boiled rice bran compared with raw rice bran. This may be due to the fact that parboiling releases the oil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Ultrasound assisted extraction of bioactive compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Drmić

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Many novel and innovative techniques are nowadays researched and explored in order to replace or improve classical, thermal processing technologies. One of newer technique is technique of minimal food processing, under what we assume ultrasound processing. Ultrasound technology can be very useful for minimal food processing because transmission of acoustic energy through product is fast and complete, which allows reduction in total processing time, and therefore lower energy consumption. Industrial processing is growing more and more waste products, and in desire of preservation of global recourses and energy efficiency, several ways of active compounds extraction techniques are now explored. The goal is to implement novel extraction techniques in food and pharmaceutical industry as well in medicine. Ultrasound assisted extraction of bioactive compounds offers increase in yield, and reduction or total avoiding of solvent usage. Increase in temperature of treatment is controlled and restricted, thereby preserving extracted bioactive compounds. In this paper, several methods of ultrasound assisted extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials are shown. Ultrasound can improve classic mechanisms of extraction, and thereby offer novel possibilities of commercial extraction of desired compounds. Application of sonochemistry (ultrasound chemistry is providing better yield in desired compounds and reduction in treatment time.

  3. Ultrasound-Assisted Hot Air Drying of Foods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulet, Antonio; Cárcel, Juan Andrés; García-Pérez, José Vicente; Riera, Enrique

    This chapter deals with the application of power ultrasound, also named high-intensity ultrasound, in the hot air drying of foods. The aim of ultrasound-assisted drying is to overcome some of the limitations of traditional convective drying systems, especially by increasing drying rate without reducing quality attributes. The effects of ultrasound on drying rate are responsible for some of the phenomena produced in the internal and/or external resistance to mass transfer.

  4. Extraction of substances assisted by ultrasound (UAE)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azuola, Rocio; Vargas, Pedro

    2007-01-01

    Different compounds present in vegetables with functional or technological properties, have gained great importance in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets. Efficient methods, economical and environment friendly are sought for the extraction of these substances. A literature review has been performanced of recent publications on different extraction methods and their comparison to the ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) to assess their effectiveness and industrial viability. The ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) has been found to be more efficient than traditional mining methods, and cheaper and easier than non-traditional extraction methods such as microwave-assisted extraction, so it checks its industrial viability. (author) [es

  5. Biocompatibility assessment of graphene oxide-hydroxyapatite coating applied on TiO2 nanotubes by ultrasound-assisted pulse electrodeposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fathyunes, Leila; Khalil-Allafi, Jafar; Sheykholeslami, Seyed Omid Reza; Moosavifar, Maryam

    2018-06-01

    In this study, the ultrasound-assisted pulse electrodeposition was introduced to fabricate the graphene oxide (GO)-hydroxyapatite (HA) coating on TiO 2 nanotubes. The results of the X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscope (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and micro-Raman spectroscopy showed the successful synthesis of GO. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images revealed that in the presence of ultrasonic waves and GO sheets a more compact HA-based coating with refined microstructure could be formed on the pretreated titanium. The results of micro-Raman analysis confirmed the successful incorporation of the reinforcement filler of GO into the coating electrodeposited by the ultrasound-assisted method. The FTIR analysis showed that the GO-HA coating was consisted predominantly of the B-type carbonated HA (CHA) phase. The pretreatment of the substrate and incorporation of the GO sheets into the HA coating had a significant effect on improving the bonding strength at the coating-substrate interface. Moreover, the results of the fibroblast cell culture and 3‑(4,5‑dimethylthiazolyl‑2)‑2, 5‑diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay after 2 days demonstrated a higher percentage of cell activity for the GO-HA coated sample. Finally, the 7-day exposure to simulated body fluid (SBF) showed a faster rate of apatite precipitation on the GO-HA coating, as compared to the HA coating and pretreated titanium. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Optimized Ultrasound-Assisted Oxidative Desulfurization Process of Simulated Fuels over Activated Carbon-Supported Phosphotungstic Acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peniel Jean Gildo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent technological advancements respond to the call to minimize/eliminate emissions to the atmosphere. However, on the average, fuel oils which is one of the major raw materials, is found to increase in sulfur concentration due to a phenomenon called thermal maturation. As such, a deeper desulfurization process is needed to obtain low/ultra-low sulfur fuel oils. In the present study, the ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD processes using the H2O2 and HPW-AC oxidizing system applied to simulated fuel (~2800 ppm sulfur in the form of dibenzothiophene, benzothiophene, and thiophene dissolved in toluene, were optimized. After the pre-saturation of the HPW-AC with the simulated fuel, H2O2 was added just before the reaction was commenced under ultrasonic irradiation. After the application of both 2k-factorial design of experiment for screening and Face-Centered Design of Experiment for optimization, it was found that 25.52 wt% of H2O2 concentration, 983.9 mg of catalyst dose, 9.52 mL aqueous phase per 10 mL of the organic phase and 76.36 minutes of ultrasonication time would render 94.74% oxidation of the sulfur compounds in the simulated fuel. After the application of the optimized parameters to kerosene and employing a 4-cycle extraction using acetonitrile, 99% of the original sulfur content were removed from the kerosene using the UAOD optimized parameters. The desulfurization process resulted in a low-sulfur kerosene which retained its basic fuel properties such as density, viscosity and calorific value.

  7. The ultrasound-assisted sugar extraction from sugar beet cossettes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stasiak, D.M.

    2005-01-01

    The aim of this work was to study the ultrasound-assisted water extraction of sugar from sugar beet cossettes. The ultrasound bath device (25 kHz, 200 W) was used. The sonication accelerated sugar diffusion at both temperatures 18 deg C and 77.6 deg C and gave the higher level of dry matter content SS (4-6 percent) and sugar content CK (7-22 percent) in juice. The SS and CK depended on time of exposition, time and temperature of extraction. In particular, the effects of 5 min ultrasound-assisted extraction were equal to 20 min extraction in traditional conditions. The shorter time, lower temperature, higher efficiency and purity of juice could be the effects of sugar extraction with ultrasound. The change of thickness of diffusion membrane, microflows in tissue as well as it's environment caused by ultrasound was the reason of acceleration of sugar extraction

  8. Glucose obtained from rice bran by ultrasound-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Cristine Kuhn

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available In this work ultrasound-assisted solid-state enzymatic hydrolysis of rice bran to obtain fermentable sugars was investigated. For this purpose, process variables such as temperature, enzyme concentration and moisture content were evaluated during the enzymatic hydrolysis with and without ultrasound irradiation. The enzyme used is a blend of amylases derived from genetically modified strains of Trichoderma reesei. Kinetic of the enzymatic hydrolysis of rice bran at the constant-reaction rate period were measured. The best results for the ultrasound-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis was obtained using 3 wt% of enzyme, 60 oC and moisture content of 65 wt%, yielding 0.38 g sugar/g rice bran, whereas for the hydrolysis in the absence of ultrasound the highest yield was 0.20 g sugar/g rice bran using 3 wt% of enzyme, 60 oC and moisture content of 50 wt%. The use of ultrasound-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis of rice bran was intensified, obtaining around 74% more fermentable sugar than in the absence, showing that the use of ultrasound is a promising technology to be used in enzymatic reaction as an alternative of process intensification.

  9. Actuator-Assisted Calibration of Freehand 3D Ultrasound System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koo, Terry K; Silvia, Nathaniel

    2018-01-01

    Freehand three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound has been used independently of other technologies to analyze complex geometries or registered with other imaging modalities to aid surgical and radiotherapy planning. A fundamental requirement for all freehand 3D ultrasound systems is probe calibration. The purpose of this study was to develop an actuator-assisted approach to facilitate freehand 3D ultrasound calibration using point-based phantoms. We modified the mathematical formulation of the calibration problem to eliminate the need of imaging the point targets at different viewing angles and developed an actuator-assisted approach/setup to facilitate quick and consistent collection of point targets spanning the entire image field of view. The actuator-assisted approach was applied to a commonly used cross wire phantom as well as two custom-made point-based phantoms (original and modified), each containing 7 collinear point targets, and compared the results with the traditional freehand cross wire phantom calibration in terms of calibration reproducibility, point reconstruction precision, point reconstruction accuracy, distance reconstruction accuracy, and data acquisition time. Results demonstrated that the actuator-assisted single cross wire phantom calibration significantly improved the calibration reproducibility and offered similar point reconstruction precision, point reconstruction accuracy, distance reconstruction accuracy, and data acquisition time with respect to the freehand cross wire phantom calibration. On the other hand, the actuator-assisted modified "collinear point target" phantom calibration offered similar precision and accuracy when compared to the freehand cross wire phantom calibration, but it reduced the data acquisition time by 57%. It appears that both actuator-assisted cross wire phantom and modified collinear point target phantom calibration approaches are viable options for freehand 3D ultrasound calibration.

  10. Ultrasound-assisted dyeing of cellulose acetate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udrescu, C; Ferrero, F; Periolatto, M

    2014-07-01

    The possibility of reducing the use of auxiliaries in conventional cellulose acetate dyeing with Disperse Red 50 using ultrasound technique was studied as an alternative to the standard procedure. Dyeing of cellulose acetate yarn was carried out by using either mechanical agitation alone, with and without auxiliaries, or coupling mechanical and ultrasound agitation in the bath where the temperature range was maintained between 60 and 80 °C. The best results of dyeing kinetics were obtained with ultrasound coupled with mechanical agitation without auxiliaries (90% of bath exhaustion value at 80 °C). Hence the corresponding half dyeing times, absorption rate constants according to Cegarra-Puente modified equation and ultrasound efficiency were calculated confirming the synergic effect of sonication on the dyeing kinetics. Moreover the apparent activation energies were also evaluated and the positive effect of ultrasound added to mechanical agitation was evidenced by the lower value (48 kJ/mol) in comparison with 112 and 169 kJ/mol for mechanical stirring alone with auxiliaries and without, respectively. Finally, the fastness tests gave good values for samples dyed with ultrasound technique even without auxiliaries. Moreover color measurements on dyed yarns showed that the color yield obtained by ultrasound-assisted dyeing at 80 °C of cellulose acetate without using additional chemicals into the dye bath reached the same value yielded by mechanical agitation, but with remarkably shorter time. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Comparison of Ultrasound-Guided and Fluoroscopy-Assisted Antegrade Common Femoral Artery Puncture Techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slattery, Michael M.; Goh, Gerard S.; Power, Sarah; Given, Mark F.; McGrath, Frank P.; Lee, Michael J., E-mail: mlee@rcsi.ie [Beaumont Hospital, Department of Radiology (Ireland)

    2015-06-15

    PurposeTo prospectively compare the procedural time and complication rates of ultrasound-guided and fluoroscopy-assisted antegrade common femoral artery (CFA) puncture techniques.Materials and MethodsHundred consecutive patients, undergoing a vascular procedure for which an antegrade approach was deemed necessary/desirable, were randomly assigned to undergo either ultrasound-guided or fluoroscopy-assisted CFA puncture. Time taken from administration of local anaesthetic to vascular sheath insertion in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), patients’ age, body mass index (BMI), fluoroscopy radiation dose, haemostasis method and immediate complications were recorded. Mean and median values were calculated and statistically analysed with unpaired t tests.ResultsSixty-nine male and 31 female patients underwent antegrade puncture (mean age 66.7 years). The mean BMI was 25.7 for the ultrasound-guided (n = 53) and 25.3 for the fluoroscopy-assisted (n = 47) groups. The mean time taken for the ultrasound-guided puncture was 7 min 46 s and for the fluoroscopy-assisted technique was 9 min 41 s (p = 0.021). Mean fluoroscopy dose area product in the fluoroscopy group was 199 cGy cm{sup 2}. Complications included two groin haematomas in the ultrasound-guided group and two retroperitoneal haematomas and one direct SFA puncture in the fluoroscopy-assisted group.ConclusionUltrasound-guided technique is faster and safer for antegrade CFA puncture when compared to the fluoroscopic-assisted technique alone.

  12. Effect of oil extraction assisted by ultrasound on the physicochemical properties and fatty acid profile of pumpkin seed oil (Cucurbita pepo).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Santos, Betsabé; Rodríguez-Miranda, Jesús; Herman-Lara, Erasmo; Torruco-Uco, Juan G; Carmona-García, Roselis; Juárez-Barrientos, José M; Chávez-Zamudio, Rubí; Martínez-Sánchez, Cecilia E

    2016-07-01

    The effects of amplitude and time of ultrasound-assisted extraction on the physicochemical properties and the fatty acid profile of pumpkin seed oil (Cucurbita pepo) were evaluated. Ultrasound time (5-30 min) and the response variables amplitude (25-100%), extraction yield, efficiency, oxidative stability in terms of the free fatty acids (FFA) of the plant design comprising two independent experiments variables, peroxide (PV), p-anisidine (AV), totox value (TV) and the fatty acid profile were evaluated. The results were analyzed by multiple linear regression. The time and amplitude showed significant differences (P<0.05) for all variables. The highest yield of extraction was achieved at 5 min and amplitude of 62.5% (62%). However, the optimal ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions were as follows: ultrasound time of 26.34 min and amplitude of 89.02%. All extracts showed low FFA (2.75-4.93% oleic acid), PV (1.67-4.68 meq/kg), AV (1.94-3.69) and TV (6.25-12.55) values. The main fatty acids in all the extracts were oleic and linoleic acid. Therefore, ultrasound-assisted oil extraction had increased performance and reduced extraction time without affecting the oil quality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Intraoperative registered transrectal ultrasound guidance for robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohareri, Omid; Ischia, Joseph; Black, Peter C; Schneider, Caitlin; Lobo, Julio; Goldenberg, Larry; Salcudean, Septimiu E

    2015-01-01

    To provide unencumbered real-time ultrasound image guidance during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, we developed a robotic transrectal ultrasound system that tracks the da Vinci® Surgical System instruments. We describe our initial clinical experience with this system. After an evaluation in a canine model, 20 patients were enrolled in the study. During each procedure the transrectal ultrasound transducer was manually positioned using a brachytherapy stabilizer to provide good imaging of the prostate. Then the transrectal ultrasound was registered to the da Vinci robot by a previously validated procedure. Finally, automatic rotation of the transrectal ultrasound was enabled such that the transrectal ultrasound imaging plane safely tracked the tip of the da Vinci instrument controlled by the surgeon, while real-time transrectal ultrasound images were relayed to the surgeon at the da Vinci console. Tracking was activated during all critical stages of the surgery. The transrectal ultrasound robot was easy to set up and use, adding 7 minutes (range 5 to 14) to the procedure. It did not require an assistant or additional control devices. Qualitative feedback was acquired from the surgeons, who found transrectal ultrasound useful in identifying the urethra while passing the dorsal venous complex suture, defining the prostate-bladder interface during bladder neck dissection, identifying the seminal vesicles and their location with respect to the rectal wall, and identifying the distal prostate boundary at the apex. Real-time, registered robotic transrectal ultrasound guidance with automatic instrument tracking during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is feasible and potentially useful. The results justify further studies to establish whether the approach can improve procedure outcomes. Copyright © 2015 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. KINETICS OF ULTRASOUND ASSISTED EXTRACTION OF WEDELOLACTONE FROM Eclipta alba

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. W. Charpe

    Full Text Available Abstract Ultrasound assisted extraction of wedelolactone, a major coumestan present in Eclipta alba, is investigated in the present work.Various process parameters such as type of solvent, power, solvent to solid ratio and extraction temperature, which affect the extraction yield, are optimized. In the ultrasound-assisted extraction with final optimized conditions, i.e., methanol as solvent, 170 W power, 60:1 solvent to solid ratio, 50 °C temperature and 60% duty cycle, amaximum extraction yieldof 0.62 mg/g is obtained in 45 minutes. The kinetic model (Peleg's model has been used for the prediction of the yield of wedelolactone in the extract at a given time for all experimental conditions. The values of predicted yields show good agreement with the experimental data for all parameters, i.e., power, solvent to solid ratio and temperature. The extraction of wedelolactone from Eclipta alba is also carried out by conventional extraction methods, i.e., Soxhlet and batch extraction. Ultrasound-assisted extraction gives higher extraction yield in less time as compared to batch extraction (0.41 mg/g in 90 min and Soxhlet extraction(0.7 mg/g in 360 min. The ultrasound-assisted extraction of wedelolactone from Eclipta alba is an effective way of extraction with the advantages of lower time and higher extraction.

  15. Continuous-flow ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) process: An efficient diesel treatment by injection of the aqueous phase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahimi, Masoud; Shahhosseini, Shahrokh; Movahedirad, Salman

    2017-11-01

    A new continuous-flow ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) process was developed in order to decrease energy and aqueous phase consumption. In this process the aqueous phase is injected below the horn tip leading to enhanced mixing of the phases. Diesel fuel as the oil phase with sulfur content of 1550ppmw and an appropriate mixture of hydrogen peroxide and formic acid as the aqueous phase were used. At the first step, the optimized condition for the sulfur removal has been obtained in the batch mode operation. Hence, the effect of more important oxidation parameters; oxidant-to-sulfur molar ratio, acid-to-sulfur molar ratio and sonication time were investigated. Then the optimized conditions were obtained using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) technique. Afterwards, some experiments corresponding to the best batch condition and also with objective of minimizing the residence time and aqueous phase to fuel volume ratio have been conducted in a newly designed double-compartment reactor with injection of the aqueous phase to evaluate the process in a continuous flow operation. In addition, the effect of nozzle diameter has been examined. Significant improvement on the sulfur removal was observed specially in lower sonication time in the case of dispersion method in comparison with the conventional contact between two phases. Ultimately, the flow pattern induced by ultrasonic device, and also injection of the aqueous phase were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by capturing the sequential images. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Ecofriendly laccase-hydrogen peroxide/ultrasound-assisted bleaching of linen fabrics and its influence on dyeing efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abou-Okeil, A; El-Shafie, A; El Zawahry, M M

    2010-02-01

    This study evaluates the bleaching efficiency of enzymatically scoured linen fabrics using a combined laccase-hydrogen peroxide bleaching process with and without ultrasonic energy, with the goal of obtaining fabrics with high whiteness levels, well preserved tensile strength and higher dye uptake. The effect of the laccase enzyme and the combined laccase-hydrogen peroxide bleaching process with and without ultrasound has been investigated with regard to whiteness value, tensile strength, dyeing efficiency and dyeing kinetics using both reactive and cationic dyes. The bleached linen fabrics were characterized using X-ray diffraction and by measuring tensile strength and lightness. The dyeing efficiency and kinetics were characterized by measuring dye uptake and colour fastness. The results indicated that ultrasound was an effective technique in the combined laccase-hydrogen peroxide bleaching process of linen fabrics. The whiteness values expressed as lightness of linen fabrics is enhanced by using ultrasonic energy. The measured colour strength values were found to be slightly better for combined laccase-hydrogen peroxide/ultrasound-assisted bleached fabrics than for combined laccase-hydrogen peroxide for both reactive and cationic dyes. The fastness properties of the fabrics dyed with reactive dye were better than those obtained when using cationic dye. The time/dye uptake isotherms were also enhanced when using combined laccase-hydrogen peroxide/ultrasound-assisted bleached fabric, which confirms the efficiency of ultrasound in the combined oxidative bleaching process. The dyeing rate constant, half-time of dyeing and dyeing efficiency have been calculated and discussed.

  17. Robot-assisted ultrasound imaging: overview and development of a parallel telerobotic system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monfaredi, Reza; Wilson, Emmanuel; Azizi Koutenaei, Bamshad; Labrecque, Brendan; Leroy, Kristen; Goldie, James; Louis, Eric; Swerdlow, Daniel; Cleary, Kevin

    2015-02-01

    Ultrasound imaging is frequently used in medicine. The quality of ultrasound images is often dependent on the skill of the sonographer. Several researchers have proposed robotic systems to aid in ultrasound image acquisition. In this paper we first provide a short overview of robot-assisted ultrasound imaging (US). We categorize robot-assisted US imaging systems into three approaches: autonomous US imaging, teleoperated US imaging, and human-robot cooperation. For each approach several systems are introduced and briefly discussed. We then describe a compact six degree of freedom parallel mechanism telerobotic system for ultrasound imaging developed by our research team. The long-term goal of this work is to enable remote ultrasound scanning through teleoperation. This parallel mechanism allows for both translation and rotation of an ultrasound probe mounted on the top plate along with force control. Our experimental results confirmed good mechanical system performance with a positioning error of < 1 mm. Phantom experiments by a radiologist showed promising results with good image quality.

  18. Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization of bunker-C oil using tert-butyl hydroperoxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Qiong; Lin, Song; Cheng, Ying; Liu, Sujun; Xiong, Jun-Ru

    2013-09-01

    This work investigated the ultrasonic assisted oxidative desulfurization of bunker-C oil with TBHP/MoO3 system. The operational parameters for the desulfurization procedure such as ultrasonic irradiation time, ultrasonic wave amplitude, catalyst initial concentration and oxidation agent initial concentration were studied. The experimental results show that the present oxidation system was very efficient for the desulfurization of bunker-C oil and ~35% sulfur was removed which was dependent on operational parameters. The application of ultrasonic irradiation allowed sulfur removal in a shorter time. The stronger the solvent polarity is, the higher the sulfur removal rate, but the recovery rate of oil is lower. The sulfur compounds in bunker-C oil reacted with TBHP to produce corresponding sulfoxide, and further oxidation produced the corresponding sulfone. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic antioxidants from Acacia confusa flowers and buds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, Yu Tang; Chang, Wei Chun; Chen, Ping Sheng; Chang, Tzu Cheng; Chang, Shang Tzen

    2011-04-01

    Acacia confusa Merr. (Leguminosae), a species native to Taiwan, is widely distributed on the hills and lowlands of Taiwan, and has been used in traditional medicines. In this study, the application of ultrasound-assisted extraction was used to extract the phenolic compounds from A. confusa flowers and buds for the first time. Among the extraction methods, it can significantly enhance the contents of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities in A. confusa flower and bud extracts using ultrasound-assisted extraction (10  min×12 times). Considering both the solvent consumption and the time needed for extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction was found to be the most practical approach for the rapid and efficient extraction of bioactive phenolic constituents. In addition, gallic acid, myricitrin-3-rhamnoside, quercitrin-3-rhamnoside, europetin-3-rhamnoside, kaempferol-3-rhamnoside, rhamnetin-3-glucoside, and rhamnetin-3-rhamnoside were also quantified in different extracts by RP-HPLC. It is clear that ultrasound-assisted extraction is an efficient method for extracting phenolic compounds from A. confusa flowers and buds. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Influence of High Shear Dispersion on the Production of Cellulose Nanofibers by Ultrasound-Assisted TEMPO-Oxidation of Kraft Pulp

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claude Daneault

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Cellulose nanofibers can be produced using a combination of TEMPO, sodium bromide (NaBr and sodium hypochlorite, and mechanical dispersion. Recently, this process has been the subject of intensive investigation. However, studies on the aspects of mechanical treatment of this process remain marginal. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the high shear dispersion parameters (e.g., consistency, stator-rotor gap, recirculation rate and pH and determine their influences on nanocellulose production using ultrasound-assisted TEMPO-oxidation of Kraft pulp. All nanofiber gels produced in this study exhibited rheological behaviors known as shear thinning. From all the dispersion parameters, the following conditions were identified as optimal: 0.042 mm stator-rotor gap, 200 mL/min recycle rate, dispersion pH of 7 and a feed consistency of 2%. High quality cellulose gel could be produced under these conditions. This finding is surely of great interest for the pulp and paper industry.

  1. Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Ultrasound-Assisted Depolymerization of κ-Carrageenan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ratnawati Ratnawati

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The ultrasound-assisted depolymerization of κ-carrageenan has been studied at various temperatures and times. The κ-carrageenan with initial molecular weight of 545 kDa was dispersed in water to form a 5 g/L solution, which was then depolymerized in an ultrasound device at various temperatures and times. The viscosity of the solution was measured using Brookfield viscometer, which was then used to find the number-average molecular weight by Mark-Houwink equation. To obtain the kinetics of κ-carrageenan depolymerization, the number-average molecular weight data was treated using midpoint-chain scission kinetics model. The pre-exponential factor and activation energies for the reaction are 2.683×10-7 mol g-1 min-1 and 6.43 kJ mol-1, respectively. The limiting molecular weight varies from 160 kDa to 240 kDa, and it is linearly correlated to temperature. The results are compared to the result of thermal depolymerization by calculating the half life. It is revealed that ultrasound assisted depolymerization of κ-carrageenan is faster than thermal depolymerization at temperatures below 72.2°C. Compared to thermal depolymerization, the ultrasound-assisted process has lower values of Ea, ΔG‡, ΔH‡, and ΔS‡, which can be attributed to the ultrasonically induced breakage of non-covalent bonds in κ-carrageenan molecules. Copyright © 2016 BCREC GROUP. All rights reserved Received: 10th November 2015; Revised: 18th January 2016; Accepted: 19th January 2016 How to Cite: Ratnawati, R., Prasetyaningrum, A., Wardhani, D.H. (2016. Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Ultrasound-Assisted Depolymerization of κ-Carrageenan. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 11(1: 48-58. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.11.1.415.48-58 Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.11.1.415.48-58

  2. Ultrasound-Assisted Transient Liquid Phase Bonding of Magnesium Alloy Using Brass Interlayer in Air

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhiwei Lai; Ruishan Xie; Chuan Pan; Xiaoguang Chen; Lei Liu; Wenxian Wang; Guisheng Zou

    2017-01-01

    The microstructure evolution and oxide film behavior in ultrasound-assisted transient liquid phase (U-TLP) bonding of Mg alloy were investigated by applying different ultrasonic time at 460℃ withbrass interlayer in air.The results indicated that with increasing ultrasonic time,brass interlayer disappeared gradually and the Mg-Cu-Zn eutectic compounds were formed.The eutectic compounds in the joint decreased as the ultrasonic time increased further.The oxide removal process was divided into four steps.Continuous oxide film at the interface was partially fractured by ultrasonic vibration,and then suspended into liquid by undermining eutectic reaction.After that,the suspended oxide film was broken into small oxide fragments by ultrasonic cavitation effect,which was finally squeezed out of the joint by ultrasonic squeeze action.In addition,the mechanical properties of the joints were investigated.The maximum shear strength of the joint reached 105 MPa,which was 100% of base metal.

  3. The role for peer-assisted ultrasound teaching in medical school.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickerson, Jonathan; Paul, Katie; Vila, Pierre; Whiticar, Rebecca

    2017-06-01

    Bedside ultrasonography has an increasing role in medicine yet medical students have limited exposure. Although countless hours are devoted to plain radiograph and electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation, ultrasound is frequently glossed over. Yet this imaging modality could enhance students' understanding of anatomy, physiology and pathology, and may increase their integration into hospital teams. We aimed to investigate whether a peer-assisted ultrasound course has a place within the undergraduate medical curriculum. We describe the implementation of a course and discuss its acceptability and utility in student education. Bedside ultrasonography has an increasing role in medicine yet medical students have limited exposure METHODS: Following consultation with the medical school, an improved ultrasonography course was developed with expert guidance from an ultrasonographer and with new equipment. Sessions involved peer-tutors teaching ultrasonography techniques to medical students during emergency medicine placements. Tutees completed questionnaires to assess the quality and perceived benefits of the course and of learning ultrasonography. Both quantitative and thematic analyses of the responses were conducted by the authors. Over a period of 8 months, 105 medical students received teaching across four sessions. A total of 103 students (98%) returned questionnaires on their evaluation of the course and tutors, and on their confidence in using ultrasound. Ninety-eight per cent felt that the teaching was well delivered, 100 per cent felt that their knowledge of ultrasound had improved and 100 per cent would recommend the course. The peer-assisted ultrasound course described here enabled the majority of students to feel confident gaining elementary ultrasound views, and performing abdominal aneurysm screening and trauma assessments: techniques that they could hopefully put to use during their placements. The peer-assisted model has an acceptable role in teaching

  4. Ultrasound assisted evaluation of chest pain in the emergency department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colony, M Deborah; Edwards, Frank; Kellogg, Dylan

    2018-04-01

    Chest pain is a commonly encountered emergency department complaint, with a broad differential including several life-threatening possible conditions. Ultrasound-assisted evaluation can potentially be used to rapidly and accurately arrive at the correct diagnosis. We propose an organized, ultrasound assisted evaluation of the patient with chest pain using a combination of ultrasound, echocardiography and clinical parameters. Basic echo techniques which can be mastered by residents in a short time are used plus standardized clinical questions and examination. Information is kept on a checklist. We hypothesize that this will result in a quicker, more accurate evaluation of chest pain in the ED leading to timely treatment and disposition of the patient, less provider anxiety, a reduction in the number of diagnostic errors, and the removal of false assumptions from the diagnostic process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Tracked "Pick-Up" Ultrasound for Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Caitlin; Nguan, Christopher; Rohling, Robert; Salcudean, Septimiu

    2016-02-01

    We present a novel "pick-up" ultrasound transducer for intraabdominal robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery. Such a "pick-up" ultrasound transducer is inserted through an abdominal incision at the beginning of the procedure and remains in the abdominal cavity throughout, eliminating the need for a dedicated port or a patient bedside surgical assistant. The transducer has a handle that can be grasped in a repeatable manner using a da Vinci Prograsp tool, allowing the transducer to be accurately manipulated by the surgeon using the da Vinci Robot. This is one way to enable 3-D tracking of the transducer, and, thus, mapping of the vasculature. The 3-D vascular images can be used to register preoperative CT to intraoperative camera images. To demonstrate the feasibility of the approach, we use an ultrasound vessel phantom to register a CT surface model to extracted ultrasound vessel models. The 3-D vascular phantom images are generated by segmenting B-mode images and tracking the pick-up ultrasound transducer with the da Vinci kinematics, internal electromagnetic sensor, or visible fiducials suitable for camera tracking. Reconstruction results using da Vinci kinematics for tracking give a target registration error of 5.4 ± 1.7 mm.

  6. Ultrasound assisted synthesis of iron doped TiO2 catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambati, Rohini; Gogate, Parag R

    2018-01-01

    The present work deals with synthesis of Fe (III) doped TiO 2 catalyst using the ultrasound assisted approach and conventional sol-gel approach with an objective of establishing the process intensification benefits. Effect of operating parameters such as Fe doping, type of solvent, solvent to precursor ratio and initial temperature has been investigated to get the best catalyst with minimum particle size. Comparison of the catalysts obtained using the conventional and ultrasound assisted approach under the optimized conditions has been performed using the characterization techniques like DLS, XRD, BET, SEM, EDS, TEM, FTIR and UV-Vis band gap analysis. It was established that catalyst synthesized by ultrasound assisted approach under optimized conditions of 0.4mol% doping, irradiation time of 60min, propan-2-ol as the solvent with the solvent to precursor ratio as 10 and initial temperature of 30°C was the best one with minimum particle size as 99nm and surface area as 49.41m 2 /g. SEM analysis, XRD analysis as well as the TEM analysis also confirmed the superiority of the catalyst obtained using ultrasound assisted approach as compared to the conventional approach. EDS analysis also confirmed the presence of 4.05mol% of Fe element in the sample of 0.4mol% iron doped TiO 2 . UV-Vis band gap results showed the reduction in band gap from 3.2eV to 2.9eV. Photocatalytic experiments performed to check the activity also confirmed that ultrasonically synthesized Fe doped TiO 2 catalyst resulted in a higher degradation of Acid Blue 80 as 38% while the conventionally synthesized catalyst resulted in a degradation of 31.1%. Overall, the work has clearly established importance of ultrasound in giving better catalyst characteristics as well as activity for degradation of the Acid Blue 80 dye. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Classification and management of gynecomastia: defining the role of ultrasound-assisted liposuction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohrich, Rod J; Ha, Richard Y; Kenkel, Jeffrey M; Adams, William P

    2003-02-01

    Gynecomastia, or excessive male breast development, has an incidence of 32 to 65 percent in the male population. This condition has important physical and psychological impacts. Advances in elucidating the pathophysiology of gynecomastia have been made, though understanding remains limited. Recommendations for evaluation and workup have varied and are often arbitrary. A diagnostic algorithm is suggested, with emphasis on a comprehensive history, physical examination, and minimizing unnecessary diagnostic testing. Medical management has had limited success; surgical therapy, primarily through excisional techniques, has been the accepted standard. Although effective, excisional techniques subject patients to large, visible scars. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction has recently emerged as a safe and effective method for the treatment of gynecomastia. It is particularly efficient in the removal of the dense, fibrous male breast tissue while offering advantages in minimal external scarring. A new system of classification and graduated treatment is proposed, based on glandular versus fibrous hypertrophy and degree of breast ptosis (skin excess). The authors' series of 61 patients with gynecomastia from 1987 to 2000 at the University of Texas Southwestern Department of Plastic Surgery demonstrated an overall success rate of 86.9 percent using suction-assisted lipectomy (1987 to 1997) and ultrasound-assisted liposuction (1997 to 2000). The authors have found ultrasound-assisted liposuction to be effective in treating most grades of gynecomastia. Excisional techniques are reserved for severe gynecomastia with significant skin excess after attempted ultrasound-assisted liposuction.

  8. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Total Phenolic Compounds from Inula helenium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin Wang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE of phenolic compounds from Inula helenium was studied. Effects of ethanol concentration, ultrasonic time, solid-liquid ratio, and number of extractions were investigated. An orthogonal array was constructed to optimize UAE process. The optimized extraction conditions were as follows: ethanol concentration, 30%; solid-liquid ratio, 1 : 20; number of extractions, 2 times; extraction time, 30 min. Under the optimal conditions, the yield of total phenolic compounds and chlorogenic acid was 6.13±0.58 and 1.32±0.17 mg/g, respectively. The results showed that high amounts of phenolic compounds can be extracted from I. helenium by ultrasound-assisted extraction technology.

  9. Investigation of process variables and intensification effects of ultrasound applied in oxidative desulfurization of model diesel over MoO3/Al2O3 catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbari, Azam; Omidkhah, Mohammadreza; Darian, Jafar Towfighi

    2014-03-01

    A new heterogeneous sonocatalytic system consisting of a MoO3/Al2O3 catalyst and H2O2 combined with ultrasonication was studied to improve and accelerate the oxidation of model sulfur compounds of diesel, resulting in a significant enhancement in the process efficiency. The influence of ultrasound on properties, activity and stability of the catalyst was studied in detail by means of GC-FID, PSD, SEM and BET techniques. Above 98% conversion of DBT in model diesel containing 1000 μg/g sulfur was obtained by new ultrasound-assisted desulfurization at H2O2/sulfur molar ratio of 3, temperature of 318 K and catalyst dosage of 30 g/L after 30 min reaction, contrary to the 55% conversion obtained during the silent process. This improvement was considerably affected by operation parameters and catalyst properties. The effects of main process variables were investigated using response surface methodology in silent process compared to ultrasonication. Ultrasound provided a good dispersion of catalyst and oxidant by breakage of hydrogen bonding and deagglomeration of them in the oil phase. Deposition of impurities on the catalyst surface caused a quick deactivation in silent experiments resulting only 5% of DBT oxidation after 6 cycles of silent reaction by recycled catalyst. Above 95% of DBT was oxidized after 6 ultrasound-assisted cycles showing a great improvement in stability by cleaning the surface during ultrasonication. A considerable particle size reduction was also observed after 3 h sonication that could provide more dispersion of catalyst in model fuel.

  10. Ultrasound-assisted sol-gel synthesis of ZrO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guel, Marlene Lariza Andrade; Jiménez, Lourdes Díaz; Hernández, Dora Alicia Cortés

    2017-03-01

    Synthesis of tetragonal ZrO 2 by both conventional sol-gel and ultrasound-assisted sol-gel methods and using a non-ionic surfactant Tween-20, was performed. A porous microstructure composed of nanometric particles was observed. Tetragonal ZrO 2 was obtained using a low heat treatment temperature of powders, 500°C by both methods. A higher crystallinity and a shorter reaction time were observed when ultrasound was used in the sol-gel method due to the cavitation phenomenon. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Ultrasound assisted extraction of food and natural products. Mechanisms, techniques, combinations, protocols and applications. A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chemat, Farid; Rombaut, Natacha; Sicaire, Anne-Gaëlle; Meullemiestre, Alice; Fabiano-Tixier, Anne-Sylvie; Abert-Vian, Maryline

    2017-01-01

    This review presents a complete picture of current knowledge on ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) in food ingredients and products, nutraceutics, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and bioenergy applications. It provides the necessary theoretical background and some details about extraction by ultrasound, the techniques and their combinations, the mechanisms (fragmentation, erosion, capillarity, detexturation, and sonoporation), applications from laboratory to industry, security, and environmental impacts. In addition, the ultrasound extraction procedures and the important parameters influencing its performance are also included, together with the advantages and the drawbacks of each UAE techniques. Ultrasound-assisted extraction is a research topic, which affects several fields of modern plant-based chemistry. All the reported applications have shown that ultrasound-assisted extraction is a green and economically viable alternative to conventional techniques for food and natural products. The main benefits are decrease of extraction and processing time, the amount of energy and solvents used, unit operations, and CO 2 emissions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Ultrasound assisted extraction of polyphenols from Punica granatum (Grenada) fruit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez Chanfrau, Jorge Enrique; Lopez Armas, Marilyn

    2014-01-01

    Extraction of bioactive compounds from vegetable materials is a classical operation applied in many industrial processes. Few studies have made reference to processes to obtain extracts from Punica granatum. This fruit is generally consumed as such or as fermented juices. In Cuba, it is known as grenade and numerous studies have shown antiviral, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Maceration process is the main used technology in the preparation of extracts from Punica granatum fruit, being this a long and expensive process. Ultrasound-assisted extractions have been proven to significantly decreased extraction time and increased extraction yields in many vegetable materials. However, few papers report the use of this methodology in the extraction processes of Punica granatum. To evaluate an ultrasound-assisted extraction process to extract polyphenols from Punica granatum fruit

  13. Optimisation of ultrasound-assisted extraction of natural antioxidants from mustard seed cultivars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szydłowska-Czerniak, Aleksandra; Tułodziecka, Agnieszka; Karlovits, György; Szłyk, Edward

    2015-05-01

    Modified mustard varieties can produce edible oil with reduced amounts of erucic acid and glucosinolates and enhanced antioxidant potential. Therefore, this work focused on the optimisation of the ultrasound-assisted extraction of compounds with high antioxidant capacity from three white mustard seed cultivars using response surface methodology. The predicted optimum solvent polarity (57.2, 56.5 and 57.6) and ultrasound power-to-sonication time ratio (4.5, 4.8 and 4.3 W min(-1)) resulted in antioxidant capacities determined by the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay [54.37, 65.75 and 68.55 mmol Trolox equivalent (TE) kg(-1)] and the 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method (141.65, 175.26 and 185.10 mmol TE kg(-1)) and total phenolics content (23.70, 27.16 and 11.29 mg sinapic acid g(-1)) for extracts obtained from one traditional and two modified mustard seed varieties. The highest FRAP and DPPH values (69.51 and 197.73 mmol TE kg(-1)) revealed 50% methanolic extract prepared from modified mustard seed cultivar without erucic acid and glucosinolates treated with ultrasound for 30 min (ultrasound power/ultrasound time = 4 W min(-1)). Ultrasound-assisted extraction was found to be a more rapid, convenient and appropriate extraction method with higher yield of antioxidants, shorter time and lower solvent consumption in comparison to conventional extraction. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  14. Evolution of Robot-assisted ultrasound-guided breast biopsy systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa Z. Mahmoud

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Robot-assisted ultrasound-guided breast biopsy combines ultrasound (US imaging with a robotic system for medical interventions. This study was designed to provide a literature review of a robotic US-guided breast biopsy system to delineate its efficacious impact on current medical practice. In addition, the strengths and limitations of this approach were also addressed. Articles published in the English language between 2000 and 2016 were appraised in this review. A wide range of systems that bind robotics with US imaging and guided breast biopsy were examined in this article. The fundamental safety and real-time imaging capabilities of US, together with the accuracy and maneuverability of robotic devices, is clearly an effective association with unmatched capabilities. Numerous experimental systems have obvious benefits over old-fashioned techniques, and the future of robot-assisted US-guided breast biopsy will be characterized by increasing levels of automation, and they hold tremendous possibility to impact doctor achievement, patient recovery, and clinical management.

  15. First investigation on ultrasound-assisted preparation of food products: sensory and physicochemical characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pingret, Daniella; Fabiano-Tixier, Anne-Sylvie; Petitcolas, Emmanuel; Canselier, Jean-Paul; Chemat, Farid

    2011-03-01

    This paper presents a comparison between manufactured food products using conventional and ultrasound-assisted procedures. Three different foam-type products, chocolate Genoise, basic sponge cake, and chocolate mousse were prepared using both methods with subsequent evaluation of the samples using both sensory and physicochemical methods. Ultrasound-assisted preparations were considered superior according to the sensory analysis, and physicochemical data confirmed this finding. This approach of applying an emerging piece of equipment, with potential industrial application to assist food preparation, consists of a new technique that could be of great interest for the development of not only other food products created by molecular gastronomy but also for practical work carried out by students.

  16. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction: Effect of Extraction Time and Solvent ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To investigate the influence of extraction conditions assisted by ultrasound on the quality of extracts obtained from Mesembryanthemum edule shoots. Methods: The extraction procedure was carried out in an ultrasonic bath. The effect of two solvents (methanol and ethanol) and two extraction times (5 and 10 min) ...

  17. Recent developments on ultrasound-assisted organic synthesis in aqueous medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Banerjee Bubun

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In the recent past, a number of methods were reported on the application of ultrasound in organic reactions for the synthesis of diverse organic scaffolds. On the other hand, as far as green chemistry is concerned, water is the safest of all solvents. Thus, a “strong collaboration” between ultrasonic irradiation and aqueous medium holds the key to the development of an environmentally sustainable protocol. The present review summarizes the latest developments in ultrasound-assisted and water-mediated organic synthesis reported to date.

  18. Ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted biopsy in evaluation of breast lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luczynska, E.; Kocurek, A.; Dyczek, S.; Skotnicki, P.; Stelmach, A.; Herman, K.

    2008-01-01

    Aim. Evaluation of the efficacy of ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy for the verification of breast lesions. Introduction. Ultrasound breast examination is a noninvasive method of breast imaging. It is adjunct to mammography and physical examination and, in women under 30 years of age, pregnant and lactating, it is the basic examination used for the detection and diagnosing of breast diseases. It allows also to obtain cells or tissue samples with such minimally invasive techniques as fine-needle biopsy, core needle biopsy or vacuum-assisted biopsy. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 138 women, aged from 20 to 76 years, who underwent ultrasound guided vacuum-assisted biopsy between March and December 2006. Because double lesions were diagnosed in 6 patients, this resulted in 144 performed procedures. Each patient underwent ultrasound examination, performed with a 10-12 MHz transducer. Biopsies were guided by a 12 MHz transducer and performed with the Mammotome System using an 11G or an 8G needle, depending upon the size and site of the lesion. Obtained data were compared using the Chi-square test; p values of less than 0.05 were considered indicative of a significant difference. Results. The average size of the biopted lesions was estimated as 11±3,8 mm (range: 4-30 mm). However, lesions described by radiologists as apparently suspicious were not qualified for the vacuum-assisted biopsy, in the tested material 4 lesions appeared to be carcinomas (3 were invasive breast carcinomas and 1 was ductal carcinoma in situ). When compared with other changes, these lesions were most frequently equivocal (3 vs 1 determined as benign, p=0.014). There was no statistically significant difference in echogenicity (3 hypoechoic vs 1 with mixed echogenicity) nor in the shape (1 oval change, 2 lobulated and 1 irregular). Pathological examination revealed 86 cases of fibroadenoma within the tested material. Those lesions were mostly benign (77 vs 9 equivocal

  19. Influencing factors and kinetics analysis on the leaching of iron from boron carbide waste-scrap with ultrasound-assisted method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xin; Xing, Pengfei; Du, Xinghong; Gao, Shuaibo; Chen, Chen

    2017-09-01

    In this paper, the ultrasound-assisted leaching of iron from boron carbide waste-scrap was investigated and the optimization of different influencing factors had also been performed. The factors investigated were acid concentration, liquid-solid ratio, leaching temperature, ultrasonic power and frequency. The leaching of iron with conventional method at various temperatures was also performed. The results show the maximum iron leaching ratios are 87.4%, 94.5% for 80min-leaching with conventional method and 50min-leaching with ultrasound assistance, respectively. The leaching of waste-scrap with conventional method fits the chemical reaction-controlled model. The leaching with ultrasound assistance fits chemical reaction-controlled model, diffusion-controlled model for the first stage and second stage, respectively. The assistance of ultrasound can greatly improve the iron leaching ratio, accelerate the leaching rate, shorten leaching time and lower the residual iron, comparing with conventional method. The advantages of ultrasound-assisted leaching were also confirmed by the SEM-EDS analysis and elemental analysis of the raw material and leached solid samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Experimental analysis and modeling of ultrasound assisted freezing of potato spheres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiani, Hossein; Zhang, Zhihang; Sun, Da-Wen

    2015-09-01

    In recent years, innovative methods such as ultrasound assisted freezing have been developed in order to improve the freezing process. During freezing of foods, accurate prediction of the temperature distribution, phase ratios, and process time is very important. In the present study, ultrasound assisted immersion freezing process (in 1:1 ethylene glycol-water solution at 253.15K) of potato spheres (0.02 m diameter) was evaluated using experimental, numerical and analytical approaches. Ultrasound (25 kHz, 890 W m(-2)) was irradiated for different duty cycles (DCs=0-100%). A finite volume based enthalpy method was used in the numerical model, based on which temperature and liquid fraction profiles were simulated by a program developed using OpenFOAM® CFD software. An analytical technique was also employed to calculate freezing times. The results showed that ultrasound irradiation could decrease the characteristic freezing time of potatoes. Since ultrasound irradiation increased the heat transfer coefficient but simultaneously generated heat at the surface of the samples, an optimum DC was needed for the shortest freezing time which occurred in the range of 30-70% DC. DCs higher than 70% increased the freezing time. DCs lower than 30% did not provide significant effects on the freezing time compared to the control sample. The numerical model predicted the characteristic freezing time in accordance with the experimental results. In addition, analytical calculation of characteristic freezing time exhibited qualitative agreement with the experimental results. As the numerical simulations provided profiles of temperature and water fraction within potatoes frozen with or without ultrasound, the models can be used to study and control different operation situations, and to improve the understanding of the freezing process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Ultrasound-assisted endoscopic partial plantar fascia release.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohuchi, Hiroshi; Ichikawa, Ken; Shinga, Kotaro; Hattori, Soichi; Yamada, Shin; Takahashi, Kazuhisa

    2013-01-01

    Various surgical treatment procedures for plantar fasciitis, such as open surgery, percutaneous release, and endoscopic surgery, exist. Skin trouble, nerve disturbance, infection, and persistent pain associated with prolonged recovery time are complications of open surgery. Endoscopic partial plantar fascia release offers the surgeon clear visualization of the anatomy at the surgical site. However, the primary medial portal and portal tract used for this technique have been shown to be in close proximity to the posterior tibial nerves and their branches, and there is always the risk of nerve damage by introducing the endoscope deep to the plantar fascia. By performing endoscopic partial plantar fascia release under ultrasound assistance, we could dynamically visualize the direction of the endoscope and instrument introduction, thus preventing nerve damage from inadvertent insertion deep to the fascia. Full-thickness release of the plantar fascia at the ideal position could also be confirmed under ultrasound imaging. We discuss the technique for this new procedure.

  2. Removal of residual functionalized ionic liquids from water by ultrasound-assisted zero-valent iron/activated carbon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Haimei; Lv, Ping; Qi, Hang; Ma, Jinqi; Wang, Jianji

    2018-03-02

    Numerous applications of ionic liquids (ILs) are often accompanied by the generation of aqueous wastes. Due to the high toxicity and poor biodegradability of ILs, effective chemical treatment is of great importance for their removal from aqueous solution. In this work, an ultrasound-assisted zero-valent iron/activated carbon (US-ZVI/AC) micro-electrolysis technique was used to degrade residual functionalized ILs, 1-butyl-3-methyl benzimidazolium bromide ([BMBIM]Br) and 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([AMIM]Cl) in aqueous solution, and the degradation degree, degradation kinetics and possible degradation pathways were investigated. It was shown that the degradation of these functionalized ILs was highly efficient in the US-ZVI/AC system, and the degradation degree was as high as 96.1% and 92.9% in 110 min for [BMBIM]Br and [AMIM]Cl, respectively. The degradation of [BMBIM]Br could be described by the second-order kinetics model, and [BMBIM] + was decomposed in two ways: (i) sequential cleavage of N-alkyl side chain of the cation produced three intermediates; (ii) the 2-positioned H atoms of the benzimidazolium ring were first oxidized, and then the imidazolium ring was opened. The degradation of [AMIM]Cl followed the first-order kinetics rule, and the 2,4,5-positioned H atoms of the imidazolium ring were oxidized to induce ring opening. In addition, the removal of total organic carbon was found to be >87%, which indicates that most of the ILs was mineralized in the degradation process. These results suggest that ultrasound-assisted ZVI/AC micro-electrolysis is highly effective for the removal of residual functionalized ILs from aqueous environment.

  3. Efficacy evaluation of laparoscopy assisted ultrasound guided radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma beneath the diaphragm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Song WANG

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective To explore the feasibility, safety and efficacy of laparoscopy assisted ultrasound guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC beneath the diaphragm. Methods Twenty- three consecutive patients with solitary HCC beneath the diaphragm were treated by laparoscopy assisted ultrasound guided RFA in the Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2013 to March 2016. We observed the perioperative complications and followed- up long-term effect. Results All the 23 patients successfully underwent laparoscopy assisted ultrasound guided radiofrequency ablation. No serious complications such as massive hemorrhage, biliary fistula and severe pleural effusion, hemopneumothorax occurred in the patients during perioperative period. CT examination 2-3 days after the operation revealed that the tumor was completely covered by the ablation area. Besides, the survival condition was satisfactory during follow-up period of 9-38 months. Conclusion Laparoscopy-assisted ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation is effective and safe for HCC beneath the diaphragm. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2017.05.16

  4. Green ultrasound-assisted extraction of carotenoids from pomegranate wastes using vegetable oils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goula, Athanasia M; Ververi, Maria; Adamopoulou, Anna; Kaderides, Kyriakos

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this work was to develop a new process for pomegranate peels application in food industries based on ultrasound-assisted extraction of carotenoids using different vegetable oils as solvents. In this way, an oil enriched with antioxidants is produced. Sunflower oil and soy oil were used as alternative solvents and the effects of various parameters on extraction yield were studied. Extraction temperature, solid/oil ratio, amplitude level, and extraction time were the factors investigated with respect to extraction yield. Comparative studies between ultrasound-assisted and conventional solvent extraction were carried out in terms of processing procedure and total carotenoids content. The efficient extraction period for achieving maximum yield of pomegranate peel carotenoids was about 30min. The optimum operating conditions were found to be: extraction temperature, 51.5°C; peels/solvent ratio, 0.10; amplitude level, 58.8%; solvent, sunflower oil. A second-order kinetic model was successfully developed for describing the mechanism of ultrasound extraction under different processing parameters. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Ultrasound-assisted extraction for total sulphur measurement in mine tailings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, Adnan Hossain; Shang, Julie Q.; Alam, Raquibul

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We develop a total sulphur measuring procedure of mine tailings. ► Ultrasound is used in the sample pre-treatment process. ► Full factorial design is applied to identify the best level of effecting factors. - Abstract: A sample preparation method for percentage recovery of total sulphur (%S) in reactive mine tailings based on ultrasound-assisted digestion (USAD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was developed. The influence of various methodological factors was screened by employing a two-level and three-factor (2 3 ) full factorial design and using KZK-1, a sericite schist certified reference material (CRM), to find the optimal combination of studied factors and %S. Factors such as the sonication time, temperature and acid combination were studied, with the best result identified as 20 min of sonication, 80 °C temperature and 1 ml of HNO 3 :1 ml of HCl, which can achieve 100% recovery for the selected CRM. Subsequently a fraction of the 2 3 full factorial design was applied to mine tailings. The percentage relative standard deviation (%RSD) for the ultrasound method is less than 3.0% for CRM and less than 6% for the mine tailings. The investigated method was verified by X-ray diffraction analysis. The USAD method compared favorably with existing methods such as hot plate assisted digestion method, X-ray fluorescence and LECO™-CNS method.

  6. The ultrasound-assisted oxidative scission of monoenic fatty acids by ruthenium tetroxide catalysis: influence of the mixture of solvents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rup, Sandrine; Zimmermann, François; Meux, Eric; Schneider, Michel; Sindt, Michele; Oget, Nicolas

    2009-02-01

    Carboxylic acids and diacids were synthesized from monoenic fatty acids by using RuO4 catalysis, under ultrasonic irradiation, in various mixtures of solvents. Ultrasound associated with Aliquat 336 have promoted in water, the quantitative oxidative cleavage of the CH=CH bond of oleic acid. A design of experiment (DOE) shows that the optimal mixture of solvents (H2O/MeCN, ratio 1/1, 2.2% RuCl3/4.1 eq. NaIO4) gives 81% azelaic acid and 97% pelargonic acid. With the binary heterogeneous mixture H2O/AcOEt, the oxidation of the oleic acid leads to a third product, the alpha-dione 9,10-dioxostearic acid.

  7. Treatment of tanneries waste water by ultrasound assisted electrolysis process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farooq, R.; Ahmed, Z.; Gilani, M. A.; Durrani, M.; Mahmood, Q.; Shaukat, S. F.; Choima, N.

    2013-01-01

    The leather industry is a major producer of wastewater and solid waste containing potential water and soil contaminants. Considering the large amount and variety of chemical agents used in skin processing, the wastewaters generated by tanneries are very complex. Therefore, the development of treatment methods for these effluents is extremely necessary. In this work the electrochemical treatment of a tannery wastewater by ultrasound assisted electrochemical process, using stainless steel and lead cathode and titanium anodes was studied. Effect of ultrasound irradiation at various ultrasonic intensities 0, 40, 60 and 80% on electrochemical removal of chromium was investigated. Experiments were conducted at two pH conditions of pH 3 and 9. Significant removal of chromium was found at pH 3 and it was also noticed that by increasing ultrasonic intensities, percentage removal of chromium and sulfate also increases. The optimum removal of chromium and sulfate ions was observed at 80% ultrasonic intensity. The technique of electrolysis assisted with ultrasonic waves can be further improved and can be the future waste water treatment process for industries. (author)

  8. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of rare-earth elements from carbonatite rocks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diehl, Lisarb O; Gatiboni, Thais L; Mello, Paola A; Muller, Edson I; Duarte, Fabio A; Flores, Erico M M

    2018-01-01

    In view of the increasing demand for rare-earth elements (REE) in many areas of high technology, alternative methods for the extraction of these elements have been developed. In this work, a process based on the use of ultrasound for the extraction of REE from carbonatite (an igneous rock) is proposed to avoid the use of concentrated reagents, high temperature and excessive extraction time. In this pioneer work for REE extraction from carbonatite rocks in a preliminary investigation, ultrasonic baths, cup horn systems or ultrasound probes operating at different frequencies and power were evaluated. In addition, the power released to the extraction medium and the ultrasound amplitude were also investigated and the temperature and carbonatite mass/volume of extraction solution ratio were optimized to 70°C and 20mg/mL, respectively. Better extraction efficiencies (82%) were obtained employing an ultrasound probe operating at 20kHz for 15min, ultrasound amplitude of 40% (692Wdm -3 ) and using a diluted extraction solution (3% v/v HNO 3 +2% v/v HCl). It is important to mention that high extraction efficiency was obtained even using a diluted acid mixture and relatively low temperature in comparison to conventional extraction methods for REE. A comparison of results with those obtained by mechanical stirring (500rpm) using the same conditions (time, temperature and extraction solution) was carried out, showing that the use of ultrasound increased the extraction efficiency up to 35%. Therefore, the proposed ultrasound-assisted procedure can be considered as a suitable alternative for high efficiency extraction of REE from carbonatite rocks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Ultrasound-assisted extraction for total sulphur measurement in mine tailings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khan, Adnan Hossain, E-mail: ad_li2@yahoo.com [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario (Canada); Shang, Julie Q.; Alam, Raquibul [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario (Canada)

    2012-10-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We develop a total sulphur measuring procedure of mine tailings. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ultrasound is used in the sample pre-treatment process. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Full factorial design is applied to identify the best level of effecting factors. - Abstract: A sample preparation method for percentage recovery of total sulphur (%S) in reactive mine tailings based on ultrasound-assisted digestion (USAD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was developed. The influence of various methodological factors was screened by employing a two-level and three-factor (2{sup 3}) full factorial design and using KZK-1, a sericite schist certified reference material (CRM), to find the optimal combination of studied factors and %S. Factors such as the sonication time, temperature and acid combination were studied, with the best result identified as 20 min of sonication, 80 Degree-Sign C temperature and 1 ml of HNO{sub 3}:1 ml of HCl, which can achieve 100% recovery for the selected CRM. Subsequently a fraction of the 2{sup 3} full factorial design was applied to mine tailings. The percentage relative standard deviation (%RSD) for the ultrasound method is less than 3.0% for CRM and less than 6% for the mine tailings. The investigated method was verified by X-ray diffraction analysis. The USAD method compared favorably with existing methods such as hot plate assisted digestion method, X-ray fluorescence and LECO Trade-Mark-Sign -CNS method.

  10. Ultrasound-Assist Extrusion Methods for the Fabrication of Polymer Nanocomposites Based on Polypropylene/Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ávila-Orta, Carlos A.; Quiñones-Jurado, Zoe V.; Waldo-Mendoza, Miguel A.; Rivera-Paz, Erika A.; Cruz-Delgado, Víctor J.; Mata-Padilla, José M.; González-Morones, Pablo; Ziolo, Ronald F.

    2015-01-01

    Isotactic polypropylenes (iPP) with different melt flow indexes (MFI) were used to fabricate nanocomposites (NCs) with 10 wt % loadings of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using ultrasound-assisted extrusion methods to determine their effect on the morphology, melt flow, and electrical properties of the NCs. Three different types of iPPs were used with MFIs of 2.5, 34 and 1200 g/10 min. Four different NC fabrication methods based on melt extrusion were used. In the first method melt extrusion fabrication without ultrasound assistance was used. In the second and third methods, an ultrasound probe attached to a hot chamber located at the exit of the die was used to subject the sample to fixed frequency and variable frequency, respectively. The fourth method is similar to the first method, with the difference being that the carbon nanotubes were treated in a fluidized air-bed with an ultrasound probe before being used in the fabrication of the NCs with no ultrasound assistance during extrusion. The samples were characterized by MFI, Optical microscopy (OM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrical surface resistivity, and electric charge. MFI decreases in all cases with addition of MWCNTs with the largest decrease observed for samples with the highest MFI. The surface resistivity, which ranged from 1013 to 105 Ω/sq, and electric charge, were observed to depend on the ultrasound-assisted fabrication method as well as on the melt flow index of the iPP. A relationship between agglomerate size and area ratio with electric charge was found. Several trends in the overall data were identified and are discussed in terms of MFI and the different fabrication methods. PMID:28793686

  11. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of Ca, K and Mg from in vitro citrus culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arruda Sandra C. C.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available An ultrasound extraction procedure for Ca, K and Mg from in vitro plant cultures is proposed, comparing cultures of different embryogenic levels of Citrus sinensis and Citrus limonia, employing ultrasound energy. Parameters related to metals extraction, such as plant material sampling, acid concentration and sonication time were investigated. For accuracy check, the proposed ultrasound extraction procedure was compared with a microwave-assisted digestion procedure and no differences in the results were verified at 95% of the confidence level. With this simple and accurate extraction procedure, it was possible to determine differences in Ca, K and Mg concentrations during Citrus embryo formation/development and between cultures (embryogenic and non-embryogenic. Finally, the ultrasound extraction method demonstrated to be an excellent alternative for handless sampling and operational costs.

  12. Ultrasound-Assist Extrusion Methods for the Fabrication of Polymer Nanocomposites Based on Polypropylene/Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos A. Ávila-Orta

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Isotactic polypropylenes (iPP with different melt flow indexes (MFI were used to fabricate nanocomposites (NCs with 10 wt % loadings of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs using ultrasound-assisted extrusion methods to determine their effect on the morphology, melt flow, and electrical properties of the NCs. Three different types of iPPs were used with MFIs of 2.5, 34 and 1200 g/10 min. Four different NC fabrication methods based on melt extrusion were used. In the first method melt extrusion fabrication without ultrasound assistance was used. In the second and third methods, an ultrasound probe attached to a hot chamber located at the exit of the die was used to subject the sample to fixed frequency and variable frequency, respectively. The fourth method is similar to the first method, with the difference being that the carbon nanotubes were treated in a fluidized air-bed with an ultrasound probe before being used in the fabrication of the NCs with no ultrasound assistance during extrusion. The samples were characterized by MFI, Optical microscopy (OM, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM, electrical surface resistivity, and electric charge. MFI decreases in all cases with addition of MWCNTs with the largest decrease observed for samples with the highest MFI. The surface resistivity, which ranged from 1013 to 105 Ω/sq, and electric charge, were observed to depend on the ultrasound-assisted fabrication method as well as on the melt flow index of the iPP. A relationship between agglomerate size and area ratio with electric charge was found. Several trends in the overall data were identified and are discussed in terms of MFI and the different fabrication methods.

  13. Ultrasound assisted combustion synthesis of TiC in Al-Ti-C system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhiwei; Rakita, Milan; Xu, Wilson; Wang, Xiaoming; Han, Qingyou

    2015-11-01

    This research investigated the effects of high-intensity ultrasound on the combustion synthesis of TiC particles in Al-Ti-C system. The process involved that high-intensity ultrasound was applied on the surface of a compacted Al-Ti-C pellet directly through a Nb probe during the thermal explosion reaction. By comparing with the sample without ultrasonic treatment, it was found that the thermal explosion reaction for synthesizing TiC phase could take place thoroughly in the ultrasonically treated sample. During the process of synthesizing TiC phase, the dissolution of solid graphite particles into the Al-Ti melt, as well as the nucleation and growth of TiC particles could be promoted effectively due to the effects of ultrasound, leading to an enhancement of the formation of TiC particles. Ultrasound assisted combustion synthesis as a simple and effective approach was proposed for synthesizing materials in this research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Synthesis of zirconium dioxide by ultrasound assisted precipitation: effect of calcination temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasad, Krishnamurthy; Pinjari, D V; Pandit, A B; Mhaske, S T

    2011-09-01

    Nanostructured zirconium dioxide was synthesized from zirconyl nitrate using both conventional and ultrasound assisted precipitation in alkaline medium. The synthesized samples were calcinated at temperatures ranging from 400°C to 900°C in steps of 100°C. The ZrO(2) specimens were characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The thermal characteristics of the samples were studied via Differential Scanning Calorimetry-Thermo-Gravimetry Analysis (DSC-TGA). The influence of the calcination temperature on the phase transformation process from monoclinic to tetragonal to cubic zirconia and its consequent effect on the crystallite size and % crystallinity of the synthesized ZrO(2) was studied and interpreted. It was observed that the ultrasound assisted technique helped to hasten to the phase transformation and also at some point resulted in phase stabilization of the synthesized zirconia. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Development of a portable, modular unit for the optimization of ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization of diesel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Meng-Wei

    Due to the stringent rules requiring ultra-low sulfur content in diesel fuels, it is necessary to develop alternative methods of desulfurization of fossil fuel derived oil, such as diesel. Current technology is not sufficient to solve this problem. Ultrasound applied to oxidative desulfurization which combined three complementary techniques: ultrasonication, phase transfer catalysis (PTC) and transition metal catalyzed oxidation, has accomplished high sulfur removal in a short contact time at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. This research has successfully demonstrated that the higher oxidation efficiency of BT to BTO and free of any by-products by using tetraoctylammonium fluoride as phase transfer agent. The oxidation rate of BT to BTO increased with increasing the carbon chain length of QAS cations. Under the same length of carbon chain, the oxidation rate of BT to BTO increased with decreasing the molecular size of QAS anions. Moreover, for diesel fuels containing various levels of sulfur content, UAOD process followed by solvent extraction has demonstrated that the sulfur reduction can reach above 95 % removal efficiency or final sulfur content below 15 ppm in mild condition. For large-scale commercial production, this research has successfully developed and operated a continuous desulfurization unit, which consists of a sonoractor, an RF amplifier, a function generator, a pretreatment tank, and a pipeline system. A single unit only needed 2' x 4' x 1' space for installation. The results indicated that the remarkable 92% removal efficiency for the sulfur in marine logistic diesel, even at a treatment rate as high as 25 lb/hour which is approximately 2 barrels per day. Therefore, this sonoreactor demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale operation even in a relatively small installation with low capital investment and maintenance cost. It also ensures the safety considerations by operating with diluted hydrogen peroxide under ambient temperature

  16. Ultrasound assisted immersion freezing of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xin, Ying; Zhang, Min; Adhikari, Benu

    2014-09-01

    The aim of this study was to research the ultrasound-assisted freezing (UAF) of broccoli. CaCl2 solution was used as freezing medium. The comparative advantage of using UAF over normal freezing on the freezing time, cell-wall bound calcium to total calcium ratio, textural properties, color, drip loss and L-ascorbic acid contents was evaluated. The application of UAF at selected acoustic intensity with a range of 0.250-0.412 W/cm(2) decreased the freezing time and the loss of cell-wall bound calcium content. Compared to normal freezing, the values of textural properties, color, L-ascorbic acid content were better preserved and the drip loss was significantly minimized by the application of UAF. However, when outside that range of acoustic intensity, the quality of the ultrasound-assisted frozen broccoli was inferior compared to that of the normally frozen samples. Selected the appropriate acoustic intensity was very important for the application of UAF. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Ultrasound-assisted lipase-catalyzed synthesis of D-isoascorbyl palmitate: process optimization and Kinetic evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Feng-Jie; Zhao, Hong-Xia; Sun, Wen-Jing; Wei, Zhuan; Yu, Si-Lian; Zhou, Qiang; Dong, Ying

    2013-12-09

    D-isoascorbic acid is a food antioxidant additive and used in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). High solubility in water (about 150 g/L at 25°C) reduces its effectiveness in stabilizing fats and oils. Our research group had successfully synthesized D-isoascorbyl palmitate using immobilized lipase Novozym 435 as a biocatalyst. Low production efficiency of D-isoascorbyl palmitate is still a problem for industrial production due to the long reaction time of over 24 h. In the present work, ultrasonic treatment was applied for accelerating the reaction process. The operation parameters were optimized to obtain the maximum D-isoascorbyl palmitate conversion rate by using a 5-level-4-factor Central Composite Design (CCD) and Response Surface Methdology (RSM). The reaction apparent kinetic parameters under the ultrasound treatment and mechanical shaking conditions were also determined and compared. Results showed that ultrasound treatment decreased the reaction time by over 50%. D-isoascorbyl palmitate yielded to 94.32 ± 0.17% and the productivity reached to 8.67 g L-1 h-1 under the optimized conditions as: 9% of enzyme load (w/w), 61°C of reaction temperature, 1:5 of D- isoascorbic-to-palmitic acid molar ratio, and 137 W of the ultrasound power. The immobilized lipase Novozym 435 could be reused for 7 times with 65% of the remained D-isoascorbyl palmitate conversion rate. The reaction kinetics showed that the maximum apparent reaction rate (vmax) of the ultrasound-assisted reaction was 2.85 times higher than that of the mechanical shaking, which proved that ultrasound treatment significantly enhanced the reaction efficiency. A systematic study on ultrasound-assisted enzymatic esterification for D-isoascorbyl palmitate production is reported. The results show a promising perspective of the ultrasound technique to reduce the reaction time and improve the production efficiency. The commercial D-isoascorbyl palmitate synthesis will be potentially

  18. Decontamination of electronic waste-polluted soil by ultrasound-assisted soil washing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Fu; Yang, Baodan; Ma, Jing; Qu, Junfeng; Liu, Gangjun

    2016-10-01

    Laboratorial scale experiments were performed to evaluate the efficacy of a washing process using the combination of methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MCD) and tea saponin (TS) for simultaneous desorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) and heavy metals from an electronic waste (e-waste) site. Ultrasonically aided mixing of the field contaminated soil with a combination of MCD and TS solutions simultaneously mobilizes most of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and the analyte metal (Pb, Cu, and Ni) burdens. It is found that 15 g/L MCD and 10 g/L TS is an efficient reagent combination reconciling extraction performance and reagent costs. Under these conditions, the removal efficiencies of HOCs and heavy metals are 93.5 and 91.2 %, respectively, after 2 cycles of 60-min ultrasound-assisted washing cycles. By contrast, 86.3 % of HOCs and 88.4 % of metals are removed from the soil in the absence of ultrasound after 3 cycles of 120-min washing. The ultrasound-assisted soil washing could generate high removal efficiency and decrease the operating time significantly. Finally, the feasibility of regenerating and reusing the spent washing solution in extracting pollutants from the soil is also demonstrated. By application of this integrated technology, it is possible to recycle the washing solution for a purpose to reduce the consumption of surfactant solutions. Collectively, it has provided an effective and economic treatment of e-waste-polluted soil.

  19. Ultrasound-assisted extraction for total sulphur measurement in mine tailings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Adnan Hossain; Shang, Julie Q; Alam, Raquibul

    2012-10-15

    A sample preparation method for percentage recovery of total sulphur (%S) in reactive mine tailings based on ultrasound-assisted digestion (USAD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was developed. The influence of various methodological factors was screened by employing a two-level and three-factor (2(3)) full factorial design and using KZK-1, a sericite schist certified reference material (CRM), to find the optimal combination of studied factors and %S. Factors such as the sonication time, temperature and acid combination were studied, with the best result identified as 20 min of sonication, 80°C temperature and 1 ml of HNO(3):1 ml of HCl, which can achieve 100% recovery for the selected CRM. Subsequently a fraction of the 2(3) full factorial design was applied to mine tailings. The percentage relative standard deviation (%RSD) for the ultrasound method is less than 3.0% for CRM and less than 6% for the mine tailings. The investigated method was verified by X-ray diffraction analysis. The USAD method compared favorably with existing methods such as hot plate assisted digestion method, X-ray fluorescence and LECO™-CNS method. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of pectinase enzyme from guava (Psidium guajava) peel: Enzyme recovery, specific activity, temperature, and storage stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amid, Mehrnoush; Murshid, Fara Syazana; Manap, Mohd Yazid; Islam Sarker, Zaidul

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the effects of the ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions on the yield, specific activity, temperature, and storage stability of the pectinase enzyme from guava peel. The ultrasound variables studied were sonication time (10-30 min), ultrasound temperature (30-50 °C), pH (2.0-8.0), and solvent-to-sample ratio (2:1 mL/g to 6:1 mL/g). The main goal was to optimize the ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions to maximize the recovery of pectinase from guava peel with the most desirable enzyme-specific activity and stability. Under the optimum conditions, a high yield (96.2%), good specific activity (18.2 U/mg), temperature stability (88.3%), and storage stability (90.3%) of the extracted enzyme were achieved. The optimal conditions were 20 min sonication time, 40 °C temperature, at pH 5.0, using a 4:1 mL/g solvent-to-sample ratio. The study demonstrated that optimization of ultrasound-assisted process conditions for the enzyme extraction could improve the enzymatic characteristics and yield of the enzyme.

  1. Extraction of curcumin from Curcuma longa L. using ultrasound assisted supercritical carbon dioxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimthet, Chhouk; Wahyudiono, Kanda, Hideki; Goto, Motonobu

    2017-05-01

    Curcumin is one of phenolic compounds, which has been recently shown to have useful pharmacological properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, antifungal, and antimicrobial activities. The objective of this research is to extract the curcumin from Curcuma longa L. using ultrasound assisted supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (USC-CO2). The extraction was performed at 50°C, 25 MPa, CO2 flow rate of 3 mL/min with 10% cosolvent. The result of extraction, thermogravimetry (TG), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that ultrasound power could disrupt cell wall and release the target compounds from Curcuma longa L. USC-CO2 could provide higher curcumin content in the extracts and faster extraction compared to SC-CO2 extraction without ultrasound.

  2. Microbubbles-Assisted Ultrasound Triggers the Release of Extracellular Vesicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuana Yuana

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Microbubbles-assisted ultrasound (USMB has shown promise in improving local drug delivery. The formation of transient membrane pores and endocytosis are reported to be enhanced by USMB, and they contribute to cellular drug uptake. Exocytosis also seems to be linked to endocytosis upon USMB treatment. Based on this rationale, we investigated whether USMB triggers exocytosis resulting in the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs. USMB was performed on a monolayer of head-and-neck cancer cells (FaDu with clinically approved microbubbles and commonly used ultrasound parameters. At 2, 4, and 24 h, cells and EV-containing conditioned media from USMB and control conditions (untreated cells, cells treated with microbubbles and ultrasound only were harvested. EVs were measured using flow cytometric immuno-magnetic bead capture assay, immunogold electron microscopy, and western blotting. After USMB, levels of CD9 exposing-EVs significantly increased at 2 and 4 h, whereas levels of CD63 exposing-EVs increased at 2 h. At 24 h, EV levels were comparable to control levels. EVs released after USMB displayed a heterogeneous size distribution profile (30–1200 nm. Typical EV markers CD9, CD63, and alix were enriched in EVs released from USMB-treated FaDu cells. In conclusion, USMB treatment triggers exocytosis leading to the release of EVs from FaDu cells.

  3. Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Natural Antioxidants from the Flower of Jatropha integerrima by Response Surface Methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Dong-Ping; Zhou, Yue; Zheng, Jie; Li, Sha; Li, An-Na; Li, Hua-Bin

    2015-12-24

    An ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method was developed for the efficient extraction of natural antioxidants from the flowers of Jatropha integerrima. Four independent variables, including ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, ultrasound irradiation time and temperature were studied by single factor experiments. Then, the central composite rotatable design and response surface methodology were employed to investigate the effect of three key parameters (ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, and ultrasound irradiation time) on the antioxidant activities of the flower extracts. The optimal extraction conditions were an ethanol concentration of 59.6%, solvent/material ratio of 50:1, ultrasound irradiation time of 7 min, and ultrasound irradiation temperature of 40 °C. Under these conditions, the optimized experimental value was 1103.38 ± 16.11 µmol Trolox/g dry weight (DW), which was in accordance with the predicted value (1105.49 µmol Trolox/g DW). Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of flower extracts obtained by UAE were compared with those produced by the traditional maceration and Soxhlet extraction methods, and UAE resulted in higher antioxidant activities after a shorter time at a lower temperature. The results obtained are helpful for the full utilization of Jatropha integerrima, and also indicate that ultrasound-assisted extraction is an efficient method for the extraction of natural antioxidants from plant materials.

  4. Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Natural Antioxidants from the Flower of Jatropha integerrima by Response Surface Methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong-Ping Xu

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available An ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE method was developed for the efficient extraction of natural antioxidants from the flowers of Jatropha integerrima. Four independent variables, including ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, ultrasound irradiation time and temperature were studied by single factor experiments. Then, the central composite rotatable design and response surface methodology were employed to investigate the effect of three key parameters (ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, and ultrasound irradiation time on the antioxidant activities of the flower extracts. The optimal extraction conditions were an ethanol concentration of 59.6%, solvent/material ratio of 50:1, ultrasound irradiation time of 7 min, and ultrasound irradiation temperature of 40 °C. Under these conditions, the optimized experimental value was 1103.38 ± 16.11 µmol Trolox/g dry weight (DW, which was in accordance with the predicted value (1105.49 µmol Trolox/g DW. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of flower extracts obtained by UAE were compared with those produced by the traditional maceration and Soxhlet extraction methods, and UAE resulted in higher antioxidant activities after a shorter time at a lower temperature. The results obtained are helpful for the full utilization of Jatropha integerrima, and also indicate that ultrasound-assisted extraction is an efficient method for the extraction of natural antioxidants from plant materials.

  5. Phyocyanin extraction from microalgae Spirulina platensis assisted by ultrasound irradiation: effect of time and temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadiyanto

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available This research was aimed to extract phycocyanin from microalgae Spirulina platensis using an extraction assisted by ultrasound irradiation. The extraction was conducted by using variable of extraction time, temperature and ultrasound frequency, while ethanol was used as solvent. The results show that the yield of phycocyanin extract was 15.97% at constant frequency of 42 kHz and 11.24% at constant frequency of 28 kHz, while the soxhlet extraction method obtained yield at 11.13%. The ultrasound could reduce the extraction time from 4 hrs (conventional to 20 minutes, while the optimum temperature of extraction was found at 55°C.

  6. Fabrication of γ-MPS-Modified HNT-PMMA Nanocomposites by Ultrasound-Assisted Miniemulsion Polymerization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buruga, Kezia; Kalathi, Jagannathan T.

    2018-04-01

    Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were modified with γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS) to improve their interaction with the polymer, and the modified HNTs (MHNTs) were subsequently used for the synthesis of MHNT-polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) nanocomposites by miniemulsion polymerization assisted by ultrasound. Reduced agglomeration of HNTs due to modification with γ-MPS was evident from scanning electron microscopy analysis. Modification of HNTs and exfoliation of MHNTs in the polymer nanocomposite were confirmed by the presence of their respective characteristic peaks in Fourier-transform infrared spectra and x-ray diffraction patterns. Transmission electron microscopic analysis showed that the surface of the MHNTs differed significantly from that of unmodified HNTs. MHNT-PMMA nanocomposite exhibited significantly higher glass-transition temperature (T g) compared with neat PMMA or unmodified HNT-PMMA nanocomposite. Hence, such modification of HNTs along with miniemulsion polymerization assisted by ultrasound is a promising approach to achieve better dispersion of HNTs in the polymer and to obtain nanocomposites with enhanced properties.

  7. Transesterification of used vegetable oil catalyzed by barium oxide under simultaneous microwave and ultrasound irradiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez-Guerra, Edith; Gude, Veera Gnaneswar

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Transesterification reaction mediated by simultaneous microwave and ultrasound irradiations with barium oxide (BaO) heterogeneous catalyst. - Highlights: • Synergistic effect of simultaneous microwave/ultrasound irradiations was evaluated. • Yields were higher for the MW/US reactions compared to MW or US individually. • BaO catalyzed MW/US transesterification reaction is more environmental-friendly. • BaO catalyzed MW/US transesterification reaction provides better biodiesel yields. • Optimum power density must be identified for energy-efficient biodiesel production. - Abstract: This study presents a novel application of simultaneous microwave and ultrasound (MW/US) irradiations on transesterification of used vegetable oil catalyzed by barium oxide, heterogeneous catalyst. Experiments were conducted to study the optimum process conditions, synergistic effect of microwave and ultrasound irradiations and the effect of power density. From the process parametric optimization study, the following conditions were determined as optimum: 6:1 methanol to oil ratio, 0.75% barium oxide catalyst by wt.%, and 2 min of reaction time at a combined power output rate of 200 W (100/100 MW/US). The biodiesel yields were higher for the simultaneous MW/US mediated reactions (∼93.5%) when compared to MW (91%) and US (83.5%) irradiations individually. Additionally, the effect of power density and a discussion on the synergistic effect of the microwave and ultrasound mediated reactions were presented. A power density of 7.6 W/mL appears to be effective for MW, and MW/US irradiated reactions (94.4% and 94.7% biodiesel yields respectively), while a power density of 5.1 W/mL was appropriate for ultrasound irradiation (93.5%). This study concludes that the combined microwave and ultrasound irradiations result in a synergistic effect that reduces the heterogeneity of the transesterification reaction catalyzed by heterogeneous catalysts to enhance the biodiesel

  8. Ultrasound-assisted fabrication of a biocompatible magnetic hydroxyapatite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Gang; Song, Wei; Hou, Yongzhao; Li, Qing; Deng, Xuliang; Fan, Yubo

    2014-10-01

    This work describes the fabrication and characterization of a biocompatible magnetic hydroxyapatite (HA) using an ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the structure and chemical composition of the produced samples. The M-H loops of synthesized materials were traced using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and the biocompatibility was evaluated by cell culture and MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Furthermore, in vivo histopathological examinations were used to evaluate the potential toxicological effects of Fe₃O₄-HA composites on kidney of SD rats injected intraperitoneally with Fe₃O₄-HA particles. The results showed that magnetic iron oxide particles first replace OH ions of HA, which are parallel to the c axis, and then enter the HA crystal lattice which produces changes in the crystal surface of HA. Chemical bond interaction was observed between PO₄³⁻ groups of HA and iron ions of Fe₃O₄. The saturation magnetization (MS ) of Fe₃O₄-HA composites was 46.36 emu/g obtained from VSM data. Cell culture and MTT assays indicated that HA could affect the growth and proliferation of HEK-293 cells. This Fe₃O₄-HA composite produced no negative effects on cell morphology, viability, and proliferation and exhibited remarkable biocompatibility. Moreover, no inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in kidney histopathology slices. Therefore, this study succeeds to develop a Fe₃O₄-HA composite as a prospective biomagnetic material for future applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Comparison of ultrasound-assisted and traditional caustic leaching of spent cathode carbon (SCC) from aluminum electrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Jin; Yuan, Jie; Tian, Zhongliang; Yang, Kai; Yao, Zhen; Yu, Bailie; Zhang, Liuyun

    2018-01-01

    The spent cathode carbon (SCC) from aluminum electrolysis was subjected to caustic leaching to investigate the different effects of ultrasound-assisted and traditional methods on element fluorine (F) leaching rate and leaching residue carbon content. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) dissolved in deionized water was used as the reaction system. Through single-factor experiments and a comparison of two leaching techniques, the optimum F leaching rate and residue carbon content for ultrasound-assisted leaching process were obtained at a temperature of 70°C, residue time of 40min, initial mass ratio of alkali to SCC (initial alkali-to-material ratio) of 0.6, liquid-to-solid ratio of 10mL/g, and ultrasonic power of 400W, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the leaching residue carbon content was 94.72%, 2.19% larger than the carbon content of traditional leaching residue. Leaching wastewater was treated with calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) and bleaching powder and the treated wastewater was recycled caustic solution. All in all, benefiting from advantage of the ultrasonication effects, ultrasound-assisted caustic leaching on spent cathode carbon had 55.6% shorter residue time than the traditional process with a higher impurity removal rate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Synergistic effects of non-thermal plasma-assisted catalyst and ultrasound on toluene removal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yongli; Zhou, Libo; Zhang, Luhong; Sui, Hong

    2012-01-01

    A wire-mesh catalyst coated by La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 was combined with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor for toluene removal at atmospheric pressure. It was found that toluene removal efficiency and carbon dioxide selectivity were enhanced in the catalytic packed-bed reactor. In addition, ozone and nitrogen monoxide from the gas effluent byproducts decreased. This is the first time that ultrasound combined with plasma has been used for toluene removal. A synergistic effect on toluene removal was observed in the plasma-assisted ultrasound system. At the same time, the system increased toluene conversion and reduced ozone emission.

  11. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of three bufadienolides from Chinese medicine ChanSu.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yinshi; Bi, Jianjie; Zhang, Li; Ye, Baoxing

    2012-11-01

    In this study, the application of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method was shown to be more efficient in extracting anti-tumor bufadienolides (bufalin, cinobufagin and resibufogenin) from important animal medicine of ChanSu than the maceration extraction (ME) and soxhlet extraction (SE) method. The effects of ultrasonic variables including extraction solvent, solvent concentration, solvent to solid ratio, ultrasound power, temperature, extraction time and particle size on the yields of three bufadienolides were investigated. The optimum extraction conditions found were: 70% (v/v) methanol solution, solvent to solid ratio of 10ml/g, ultrasound power of 125W, temperature of 20°C, extraction time of 20min and particle size of 60-80 mesh. The extraction yields of bufalin, cinobufagin and resibufogenin were 43.17±0.85, 52.58±1.12, 137.70±2.65mg/g, respectively. In order to achieve a similar yield as UAE, soxhlet extraction required 6h and maceration extraction required much longer time of 18h. The results indicated that UAE is an alternative method for extracting bufadienolides from ChanSu. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Carotid Doppler ultrasound findings in patients with left ventricular assist devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cervini, Patrick; Park, Soon J; Shah, Dipesh K; Penev, Irina E; Lewis, Bradley D

    2010-12-01

    Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have been used to treat advanced heart failure refractory to medical management, as bridge therapy to myocardial recovery, as bridge therapy to cardiac transplantation, or as destination therapy for patients with unfavorable transplant candidacy. Neurologic complications are some of the most common and devastating complications in these patients. Preoperative carotid ultrasound is, therefore, a standard evaluation in patients at risk for cerebrovascular disease. Postoperative carotid artery Doppler sonography is performed in those patients with neurologic symptoms. It is likely, therefore, that sonographers, radiologists, and other physicians working in a center where LVADs are implanted will likely encounter a carotid artery Doppler study in this patient group. To our knowledge, the carotid Doppler findings in these patients have never been published. We review the Doppler ultrasound findings in 6 patients after LVAD insertion.

  13. Sequential Combination of Microwave- and Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Total Flavonoids from Osmanthus fragrans Lour. Flowers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianfeng Yu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Microwave-assisted and ultrasound-assisted extraction assays were used to isolate total flavonoids (TF from Osmanthus fragrans flowers. The effects of the solid-liquid ratio, ethanol concentration, microwave power, microwave extraction time, ultrasonic power and ultrasonic extraction time on the yield of TF were studied. A sequential combination of microwave- and ultrasound-assisted extraction (SC-MUAE methods was developed, which was subsequently optimized by Box-Behnken design-response surface methodology (BBD-RSM. The interaction effects of the ethanol concentration (40–60%, microwave extraction time (5–7 min, ultrasonic extraction time (8–12 min and ultrasonic power (210–430 W on the yield of TF were investigated. The optimum operating parameters for the extraction of TF were determined to be as follows: ethanol concentration (48.15%, microwave extraction time (6.43 min, ultrasonic extraction time (10.09 min and ultrasonic power (370.9 W. Under these conditions, the extraction yield of TF was 7.86 mg/g.

  14. Optimization and Comparison of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Estragole from Tarragon Leaves with Hydro-Distillation Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Bagher Gholivand

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available A comparative study of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE and hydro-distillation was performed for fast extraction of estragole from tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L. dried leaves. Several influential parameters of the UAE procedure in the extraction of estragole (type of solvent, extraction cycles, solvent to material ratio, irradiation time and particle size were investigated and optimized. It was found that UAE offers a more rapid extraction of estragole than hydrodistillation. The optimum parameters were solvent to material ratio of 8:1 v/m, 96% (w/w ethanol in water as extraction solvent, particle size of 1.18 mm, irradiation time of 5 min, output power of 63 W, 9 pulses, and ultrasonic frequency of 20 kHz. The recovery of estragole by UAE under optimal conditions was 44.4% based on dry extract. The benefit of ultrasound was to decrease the extraction time (5 min relative to the classical hydrodistillation method (3 h. The experimental results also indicated that ultrasound-assisted extraction is a simple, rapid and effective method for extraction of the volatile oil components of tarragon.

  15. Research on the treatment of phosphoric wastewater by ultrasound-assisted microelectrolysis method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hui; Xue, Jian-Jun; Wang, Ling; Wang, Zhao-Wei; Ling, Shi-Sheng; Kong, Ling-Guo; Chen, Yu-Lan

    2012-01-01

    In this research work, ultrasound was introduced to the microelectrolysis (ME) method to improve the treatment efficiency for phosphoric wastewater. The effects of treatment time, Fe/C ratio (v/v) and iron filings dosage on the efficiency of phosphorus removal from wastewater with different initial pH values were investigated. The results showed that the phosphorus removal efficiency by the ME method was significantly enhanced in the presence of ultrasound. The maximum removal rate of phosphorus (RRP) for the wastewater with an initial pH value of 4.0 was 92.4% after 60 min of treatment when the Fe/C and Fe/H2O volume ratio were 2/1 and 1/10, respectively. The reaction kinetics analysis indicated that the phosphorus degradation processes for the ultrasonic and ME methods as well as the ultrasonically assisted ME method (UME) were in accordance with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The synergetic effect of the combined ultrasound and ME method for phosphorus removal was also studied by reaction kinetics analysis.

  16. Ultrasound assisted synthesis of Mn3O4 nanoparticles anchored graphene nanosheets for supercapacitor applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raj, Balasubramaniam Gnana Sundara; Ramprasad, Rajasekharan Nair Radhika; Asiri, Abdullah M.; Wu, Jerry J; Anandan, Sambandam

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Room temperature synthesis of Mn 3 O 4 –graphene (MG) composite via ultra sound assisted method. • TEM images shows Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surface of graphene nanosheets. • MG composite exhibited high specific capacitance of 312 F g −1 in 1 M Na 2 SO 4 which was three times greater than pristine Mn 3 O 4 . • 76% of the initial capacitance was retained even after 1000 cycles. • The higher specific capacitance of the MG nanocomposite due to the synergistic effect between the Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles and graphene nanosheets. - Abstract: Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles anchored graphene nanosheets (MG) have been successfully synthesized by a simple ultrasound assisted synthesis at room temperature without the use of any templates or surfactants for supercapacitor applications. Upon ultrasound assisted synthesis, the formation of Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles and the graphene oxide reduction occurs simultaneously. The crystalline structure of thus prepared MG nanocomposite have been characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) is used to determine the mass content of graphene (17 wt%) in the MG nanocomposite. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies shows that the Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles (4–8 nm) were uniformly anchored on the surface of graphene nanosheets. The electrochemical properties of the MG nanocomposite were investigated by employing cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The capacitive properties of MG nanocomposite studied in the presence of 1 M Na 2 SO 4 exhibited high specific capacitance of 312 F g −1 which was approximately three times greater than that of pristine Mn 3 O 4 (113 F g −1 ) at the same current density of 0.5 mA cm −2 in the potential range from -0.1 to +0.9 V. About 76% of the initial capacitance was retained even after 1000 cycles

  17. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Carnosic Acid and Rosmarinic Acid Using Ionic Liquid Solution from Rosmarinus officinalis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunjian Zhao

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Ionic liquid based, ultrasound-assisted extraction was successfully applied to the extraction of phenolcarboxylic acids, carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, from Rosmarinus officinalis. Eight ionic liquids, with different cations and anions, were investigated in this work and [C8mim]Br was selected as the optimal solvent. Ultrasound extraction parameters, including soaking time, solid–liquid ratio, ultrasound power and time, and the number of extraction cycles, were discussed by single factor experiments and the main influence factors were optimized by response surface methodology. The proposed approach was demonstrated as having higher efficiency, shorter extraction time and as a new alternative for the extraction of carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid from R. officinalis compared with traditional reference extraction methods. Ionic liquids are considered to be green solvents, in the ultrasound-assisted extraction of key chemicals from medicinal plants, and show great potential.

  18. Minimizing complications of ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty: an initial experience with no related complications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tebbetts, J B

    1998-10-01

    Numerous complications and increased operating times were reported with ultrasonically assisted lipoplasty in the first several months after introduction of the technology in the United States. The purpose of this study was to review early reported complications and management regimens, evaluate possible causes of problems, and apply indications and techniques to attempt to minimize complications during an initial experience with this technique beginning in January of 1997. Seven specific indications and modifications of existing techniques were developed and applied to an initial clinical series of 70 consecutive patients who underwent ultrasound-assisted suction lipoplasty between January 10, 1997, and August 1, 1997. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 7 months. No perioperative or postoperative complication occurred in any patient in this series. In this series of ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty cases, application of the following criteria resulted in a series of 70 patients with 1 to 7-month follow-up without complications: (1) selecting patients with well localized fat deposits who were no more than 20 percent above their ideal body weight; (2) infusing a solution of Ringer's Lactate containing 1 cc of 1:1000 epinephrine per 1000 cc into the area of fat removal, stopping infusion when the tissues first become firm, not infusing to marked tissue turgor or skin induration; (3) restricting the level of energy application to a minimum of 1 cm from the undersurface of the dermis; (4) limiting ultrasonic energy application in each area to approximately 1 minute per estimated 100 cc of total aspirate in a wet to superwet environment; (5) not performing ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty in the same area as another procedure that could potentially compromise tissue vascularity; (6) using a Lysonix 2000 generator and 5-mm golf tee tip probe at a power setting of 8 to apply ultrasonic energy to the area of fat removal, ceasing energy application when tissue resistance to the passage

  19. Ultrasound-assisted powder-coating technique to improve content uniformity of low-dose solid dosage forms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Genina, Natalja; Räikkönen, Heikki; Antikainen, Osmo

    2010-01-01

    An ultrasound-assisted powder-coating technique was used to produce a homogeneous powder formulation of a low-dose active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The powdered particles of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC; Avicel® PH-200) were coated with a 4% m/V aqueous solution of riboflavin sodium...

  20. Optimization of biodiesel production from Chlorella protothecoides oil via ultrasound assisted transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Özçimen Didem

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a growing interest in biodiesel as an alternative fuel for diesel engines because of the high oil prices and environmental issues related to massive greenhouse gas emissions. Nowadays, microalgal biomass has become a promising biodiesel feedstock. However, traditional biodiesel production from microalgae consumes a lot of energy and solvents. It is necessary to use an alternative method that can reduce the energy and alcohol consumption and save time. In this study, biodiesel production from Chlorella protothecoides oil by ultrasound assisted transesterification was conducted and effects of reaction parameters such as methanol:oil ratio, catalyst/oil ratio and reaction time on fatty acid methyl ester yields were investigated. The transesterification reactions were carried out by using methanol as alcohol and potassium hydroxide as the catalyst. The highest methyl ester production was obtained under the conditions of 9:1 methanol/oil mole ratio, 1.5% potassium hydroxide catalyst in oil, and for reaction time of 40 min. It was also found that catalyst/oil molar ratio was the most effective parameter on methyl ester yield according to statistical data. The results showed that ultrasound-assisted transesterification may be an alternative and cost effective way to produce biodiesel efficiently.

  1. Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Natural Antioxidants from the Osmanthus fragrans Flower.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, An-Na; Li, Sha; Li, Ya; Xu, Dong-Ping; Li, Hua-Bin

    2016-02-18

    An ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method was developed to extract natural antioxidants from the Osmanthus fragrans flower. The effect of UAE on antioxidant activity of the extract from the Osmanthus fragrans flower was studied using a Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay. Optimization conditions were firstly determined using a single-factor experiment, and response surface methodology was then used to evaluate interaction of several experimental parameters. Analysis of the coefficient of determination showed that second-order polynomial models produced a highly satisfactory fitting of the experimental data with regard to TEAC values (R² = 0.9829, p extraction for 35.2 min at 59.4 °C. Under these conditions, the maximum TEAC value was 584.9 ± 6.0 μmol Trolox/g DW, which was higher than those obtained by the conventional extracting method (486.4 ± 12.6 μmol Trolox/g DW) and the Soxhlet extraction method (339.1 ± 16.2 μmol Trolox/g DW). The crude extract obtained could be used either as a food additive or in pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by oxidative stress.

  2. Ultrasound-assisted activation of zero-valent magnesium for nitrate denitrification: identification of reaction by-products and pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ileri, Burcu; Ayyildiz, Onder; Apaydin, Omer

    2015-07-15

    Zero-valent magnesium (Mg(0)) was activated by ultrasound (US) in an aim to promote its potential use in water treatment without pH control. In this context, nitrate reduction was studied at batch conditions using various doses of magnesium powder and ultrasound power. While neither ultrasound nor zero-valent magnesium alone was effective for reducing nitrate in water, their combination removed up to 90% of 50 mg/L NO3-N within 60 min. The rate of nitrate reduction by US/Mg(0) enhanced with increasing ultrasonic power and magnesium dose. Nitrogen gas (N2) and nitrite (NO2(-)) were detected as the major reduction by-products, while magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH)2 and hydroxide ions (OH(-)) were identified as the main oxidation products. The results from SEM-EDS measurements revealed that the surface oxide level decreased significantly when the samples of Mg(0) particles were exposed to ultrasonic treatment. The surface passivation of magnesium particles was successfully minimized by mechanical forces of ultrasound, which in turn paved the way to sustain the catalyst activity toward nitrate reduction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Ultrasound-responsive gene-activated matrices for osteogenic gene therapy using matrix-assisted sonoporation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nomikou, N; Feichtinger, G A; Saha, S; Nuernberger, S; Heimel, P; Redl, H; McHale, A P

    2018-01-01

    Gene-activated matrix (GAM)-based therapeutics for tissue regeneration are limited by efficacy, the lack of spatiotemporal control and availability of target cells, all of which impact negatively on their translation to the clinic. Here, an advanced ultrasound-responsive GAM is described containing target cells that facilitates matrix-assisted sonoporation (MAS) to induce osteogenic differentiation. Ultrasound-responsive GAMs consisting of fibrin/collagen hybrid-matrices containing microbubbles, bone morphogenetic protein BMP2/7 coexpression plasmids together with C2C12 cells were treated with ultrasound either in vitro or following parenteral intramuscular implantation in vivo. Using direct measurement for alkaline phosphatase activity, von Kossa staining and immunohistochemical analysis for osteocalcin expression, MAS-stimulated osteogenic differentiation was confirmed in the GAMs in vitro 7 days after treatment with ultrasound. At day 30 post-treatment with ultrasound, ectopic osteogenic differentiation was confirmed in vivo using X-ray microcomputed tomography and histological analysis. Osteogenic differentiation was indicated by the presence of ectopic bone structures in all animals treated with MAS. In addition, bone volumes in this group were statistically greater than those in the control groups. This novel approach of incorporating a MAS capability into GAMs could be exploited to facilitate ex vivo gene transfer with subsequent surgical implantation or alternatively provide a minimally invasive means of stimulating in situ transgene delivery for osteoinductive gene-based therapies. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and solvent extraction of papaya seed oil: yield, fatty acid composition and triacylglycerol profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samaram, Shadi; Mirhosseini, Hamed; Tan, Chin Ping; Ghazali, Hasanah Mohd

    2013-10-10

    The main objective of the current work was to evaluate the suitability of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) for the recovery of oil from papaya seed as compared to conventional extraction techniques (i.e., Soxhlet extraction (SXE) and solvent extraction (SE)). In the present study, the recovery yield, fatty acid composition and triacylglycerol profile of papaya seed oil obtained from different extraction methods and conditions were compared. Results indicated that both solvent extraction (SE, 12 h/25 °C) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) methods recovered relatively high yields (79.1% and 76.1% of total oil content, respectively). Analysis of fatty acid composition revealed that the predominant fatty acids in papaya seed oil were oleic (18:1, 70.5%-74.7%), palmitic (16:0, 14.9%-17.9%), stearic (18:0, 4.50%-5.25%), and linoleic acid (18:2, 3.63%-4.6%). Moreover, the most abundant triacylglycerols of papaya seed oil were triolein (OOO), palmitoyl diolein (POO) and stearoyl oleoyl linolein (SOL). In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the triacylglycerol profile of papaya seed oil, but no significant differences were observed in the fatty acid composition of papaya seed oil extracted by different extraction methods (SXE, SE and UAE) and conditions.

  5. Batch and Continuous Ultrasound Assisted Extraction of Boldo Leaves (Peumus boldus Mol.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joël Wajsman

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Vegetal extracts are widely used as primary ingredients for various products from creams to perfumes in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutic and cosmetic industries. Having concentrated and active extract is essential, as the process must extract as much soluble material as possible in a minimum time, using the least possible volume of solvent. The boldo leaves extract is of great interest for the industry as it holds a great anti-oxidant activity due to high levels of flavonoids and alkaloids such as boldine. Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE has been used to improve the efficiency of the plant extraction, reducing extraction time, increasing the concentration of the extract with the same amount of solvent and plant material. After a preliminary study, a response surface method has been used to optimize the extraction of soluble material from the plant. The results provided by the statistical analysis revealed that the optimized conditions were: sonication power 23 W/cm2 for 40 min and a temperature of 36 °C. The optimized parameters of the UAE provide a better extraction compared to a conventional maceration in terms of process time (30 min instead of 120 min, higher yield, more energy saving, cleanliness, safety and product quality.

  6. Batch and Continuous Ultrasound Assisted Extraction of Boldo Leaves (Peumus boldus Mol.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petigny, Loïc; Périno-Issartier, Sandrine; Wajsman, Joël; Chemat, Farid

    2013-03-12

    Vegetal extracts are widely used as primary ingredients for various products from creams to perfumes in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutic and cosmetic industries. Having concentrated and active extract is essential, as the process must extract as much soluble material as possible in a minimum time, using the least possible volume of solvent. The boldo leaves extract is of great interest for the industry as it holds a great anti-oxidant activity due to high levels of flavonoids and alkaloids such as boldine. Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE) has been used to improve the efficiency of the plant extraction, reducing extraction time, increasing the concentration of the extract with the same amount of solvent and plant material. After a preliminary study, a response surface method has been used to optimize the extraction of soluble material from the plant. The results provided by the statistical analysis revealed that the optimized conditions were: sonication power 23 W/cm2 for 40 min and a temperature of 36 °C. The optimized parameters of the UAE provide a better extraction compared to a conventional maceration in terms of process time (30 min instead of 120 min), higher yield, more energy saving, cleanliness, safety and product quality.

  7. Ultrasound-assisted synthesis and processing of carbon materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortunato, Maria E.

    2011-12-01

    heating (˜5000 K), high pressures (˜300 atm), and enormous heating and cooling rates (>109 K/sec). In solid-liquid slurries, surface erosion and particle fracture occur due to the shockwaves and microjets formed from asymmetric bubble collapse at extended surfaces. The chemical and physical effects of ultrasound have been studied as an adjunct to the traditional chemical pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for ethanol production. Lignocellulosic biomass consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The surface effects of ultrasound were used in this work to increase the accessibility of the cellulose, which can be converted to glucose and then fermented into ethanol. The lignocellulosic biomass used in this work was Miscanthus x giganteus (Mxg) which was grown at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The chemical effects of NaOH pretreatment on Mxg were enhanced by ultrasound: greater delignification and a significant increase in the amount of pores >5 nm were observed. ˜ 70% of the theoretical glucose yield was obtained by enzymatic saccharification of the ultrasound-assisted NaOH-pretreated Mxg; this is comparable to the yields that can be obtained by traditional alkaline pretreatments, but it was achieved in a shorter time and at a lower temperature. Because the apparatus used for laboratory studies is not a likely device for scale-up, the economics of ultrasound with regards to energy balance are not yet resolved.

  8. Clean recovery of antioxidant compounds from plant foods, by-products and algae assisted by ultrasounds processing. Modeling approaches to optimize processing conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roselló-Soto, Elena; Galanakis, Charis M.; Brnčić, Mladen

    2015-01-01

    Ultrasound treatment is an alternative affordable, effective and reproducible method for the improved recovery of bioactive compounds from various processing streams. The objective of this review is to discuss the impact of ultrasound-assisted extraction on the recovery of polyphenols, carotenoid...

  9. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Total Flavonoids from Corn Silk and Their Antioxidant Activity

    OpenAIRE

    Zheng, Ling-Li; Wen, Guan; Yuan, Min-Yong; Gao, Feng

    2016-01-01

    Object. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of total flavonoids from corn silk and their antioxidant activities were studied. Methods. Response surface methodology was adopted to optimize the extraction conditions and antioxidant activities of the extracted total flavonoids were detected through ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Results. Through a three-level, three-variable Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM) adopting yield as response, the optimal conditions we...

  10. Minimally invasive registration for computer-assisted orthopedic surgery: combining tracked ultrasound and bone surface points via the P-IMLOP algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billings, Seth; Kang, Hyun Jae; Cheng, Alexis; Boctor, Emad; Kazanzides, Peter; Taylor, Russell

    2015-06-01

    We present a registration method for computer-assisted total hip replacement (THR) surgery, which we demonstrate to improve the state of the art by both reducing the invasiveness of current methods and increasing registration accuracy. A critical element of computer-guided procedures is the determination of the spatial correspondence between the patient and a computational model of patient anatomy. The current method for establishing this correspondence in robot-assisted THR is to register points intraoperatively sampled by a tracked pointer from the exposed proximal femur and, via auxiliary incisions, from the distal femur. In this paper, we demonstrate a noninvasive technique for sampling points on the distal femur using tracked B-mode ultrasound imaging and present a new algorithm for registering these data called Projected Iterative Most-Likely Oriented Point (P-IMLOP). Points and normal orientations of the distal bone surface are segmented from ultrasound images and registered to the patient model along with points sampled from the exposed proximal femur via a tracked pointer. The proposed approach is evaluated using a bone- and tissue-mimicking leg phantom constructed to enable accurate assessment of experimental registration accuracy with respect to a CT-image-based model of the phantom. These experiments demonstrate that localization of the femur shaft is greatly improved by tracked ultrasound. The experiments further demonstrate that, for ultrasound-based data, the P-IMLOP algorithm significantly improves registration accuracy compared to the standard ICP algorithm. Registration via tracked ultrasound and the P-IMLOP algorithm has high potential to reduce the invasiveness and improve the registration accuracy of computer-assisted orthopedic procedures.

  11. An ultrasound-assisted digestion method for the determination of toxic element concentrations in ash samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ilander, Aki; Vaeisaenen, Ari

    2007-01-01

    A method of ultrasound-assisted digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) used for the determination of toxic element concentrations (arsenic, barium, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel, strontium, vanadium and zinc) in ash samples was developed. All the measurements were performed in robust plasma conditions which were tested by measuring the Mg(II) 280.270 nm/Mg(I) 285.213 nm line intensity ratios. The highest line intensity ratios were observed when a nebulizer gas flow of 0.6 L min -1 , auxiliary gas flow of 0.2 L min -1 and plasma power of 1400 W were used for radially viewed plasma. The analysis of SRM 1633b showed that the ultrasound-assisted method developed is highly comparable with the microwave digestion method standardized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-3052). The ultrasound-assisted digestion with a digestion solution of aqua regia and hydrofluoric acid (HF) resulted in recovery rates of over 81%. One exception is arsenic which resulted in recoveries of about 60% only; however, it could be digested with good recovery (>90%) using a digestion solution of 5 mL of water and 5 mL of aqua regia. The major advantage of the ultrasound-assisted digestion over microwave digestion is the high treatment rate (30 samples simultaneously with a sonication time of 18 min)

  12. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of fructans from agave (Agave tequilana Weber var. azul at different ultrasound powers and solid-liquid ratios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Ángel SÁNCHEZ-MADRIGAL

    Full Text Available Abstract The effects of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE at different ultrasound power densities (UPDs; 40, 80, and 120 mW/mL and solid:liquid (S:L ratio (1:2, 1:3, and 1:6 on the extraction of carbohydrates from Agave tequilana plant of different ages were evaluated. Extracts obtained (6- and 7-year-old plant were analyzed in the yield of carbohydrates (YC, fructan (FRU content, simple sugars, fructan profile and the average degree of polymerization (DPn. UPD, S:L ratio, and plant age all affected YC, FRU, and DPn. Maximum YC and FRU were obtained from the older agave with UPD and S:L ratio of 120 mW/mL and 1:6, respectively; while glucose, fructose, and sucrose were highly released from the younger plant. Agave of 7-year-old presented the highest DPn. Fructan degradation occurred at high UPD, increasing the simple sugars and decreasing the DPn. Thermal-traditional extraction without sonication caused more fructan degradation; and overall, ultrasound enhanced fructan extraction and minimized fructan damage, representing a technological alternative for fructan extraction from agave.

  13. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction, Antioxidant and Anticancer Activities of the Polysaccharides from Rhynchosia minima Root

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuejing Jia

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Box-Behnken design (BBD, one of the most common response surface methodology (RSM methods, was used to optimize the experimental conditions for ultrasound-assisted extraction of polysaccharides from Rhynchosia minima root (PRM. The antioxidant abilities and anticancer activity of purified polysaccharide fractions were also measured. The results showed that optimal extraction parameters were as follows: ultrasound exposure time, 21 min; ratio of water to material, 46 mL/g; ultrasound extraction temperature, 63 °C. Under these conditions, the maximum yield of PRM was 16.95% ± 0.07%. Furthermore, the main monosaccharides of purified fractions were Ara and Gal. PRM3 and PRM5 exhibited remarkable DPPH radical scavenging activities and reducing power in vitro. PRM3 showed strong inhibitory activities on the growth of MCF-7 cells in vitro. The above results indicate that polysaccharides from R. minima root have the potential to be developed as natural antioxidants and anticancer ingredients for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

  14. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction, Antioxidant and Anticancer Activities of the Polysaccharides from Rhynchosia minima Root.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Xuejing; Zhang, Chao; Hu, Jie; He, Muxue; Bao, Jiaolin; Wang, Kai; Li, Peng; Chen, Meiwan; Wan, Jianbo; Su, Huanxing; Zhang, Qingwen; He, Chengwei

    2015-11-23

    Box-Behnken design (BBD), one of the most common response surface methodology (RSM) methods, was used to optimize the experimental conditions for ultrasound-assisted extraction of polysaccharides from Rhynchosia minima root (PRM). The antioxidant abilities and anticancer activity of purified polysaccharide fractions were also measured. The results showed that optimal extraction parameters were as follows: ultrasound exposure time, 21 min; ratio of water to material, 46 mL/g; ultrasound extraction temperature, 63 °C. Under these conditions, the maximum yield of PRM was 16.95%±0.07%. Furthermore, the main monosaccharides of purified fractions were Ara and Gal. PRM3 and PRM5 exhibited remarkable DPPH radical scavenging activities and reducing power in vitro. PRM3 showed strong inhibitory activities on the growth of MCF-7 cells in vitro. The above results indicate that polysaccharides from R. minima root have the potential to be developed as natural antioxidants and anticancer ingredients for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

  15. Ultrasound-assisted acid hydrolysis of cellulose to chemical building blocks: Application to furfural synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Daniel; Silva, Ubiratan F; Duarte, Fabio A; Bizzi, Cezar A; Flores, Erico M M; Mello, Paola A

    2018-01-01

    In this work, the use of ultrasound energy for the production of furanic platforms from cellulose was investigated and the synthesis of furfural was demonstrated. Several systems were evaluated, as ultrasound bath, cup horn and probe, in order to investigate microcrystalline cellulose conversion using simply a diluted acid solution and ultrasound. Several acid mixtures were evaluated for hydrolysis, as diluted solutions of HNO 3 , H 2 SO 4 , HCl and H 2 C 2 O 4 . The influence of the following parameters in the ultrasound-assisted acid hydrolysis (UAAH) were studied: sonication temperature (30 to 70°C) and ultrasound amplitude (30 to 70% for a cup horn system) for 4 to 8molL -1 HNO 3 solutions. For each evaluated condition, the products were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ToF-MS), which provide accurate information regarding the products obtained from biomass conversion. The furfural structure was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H and 13 C NMR) spectroscopy. In addition, cellulosic residues from hydrolysis reaction were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which contributed for a better understanding of physical-chemical effects caused by ultrasound. After process optimization, a 4molL -1 HNO 3 solution, sonicated for 60min at 30°C in a cup horn system at 50% of amplitude, lead to 78% of conversion to furfural. This mild temperature condition combined to the use of a diluted acid solution represents an important contribution for the selective production of chemical building blocks using ultrasound energy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Ultrasound assisted synthesis of stable oil in milk emulsion: Study of operating parameters and scale-up aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, Leena; Gogate, Parag R

    2018-01-01

    In the present work, application of ultrasound and stirring individually or in combination for improved emulsification of turmeric oil in skimmed milk has been investigated. The effect of different operating parameters/strategies such as addition of surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), at different concentrations, quantity of oil phase, applied power, sonication time and duty cycle on the droplet size have been investigated. The stability of emulsion was analyzed in terms of the fraction of the emulsion that remains stable for a period of 28days. Optimized set of major emulsification process variables has been used at higher emulsion volumes. The effectiveness of treatment approach was analyzed based on oil droplet size, energy density and the time required for the formation of stable emulsion. It was observed that the stable emulsion at 50mL capacity with mean droplet diameter of about 235.4nm was obtained with the surfactant concentration of 5mg/mL, 11% of rated power (power density: 0.31W/mL) and irradiation time of 5min. The emulsion stability was higher in the case of ultrasound assisted approach as compared to the stirring. For the preparation of stable emulsion at 300mL capacity, it was observed that the sequential approach, i.e., stirring followed by ultrasound, gave lower mean droplet diameter (232.6nm) than the simultaneous approach, i.e., ultrasound and stirring together (257.9nm). However, the study also revealed that the simultaneous approach required very less time (15min) to synthesize stable emulsion as compared to the sequential approach (30min stirring and 60min ultrasound). It was successfully demonstrated that the ultrasound-assisted emulsification in the presence of SDS could be used for the preparation of stable turmeric oil-dairy emulsions, also providing insights into the role of SDS in increasing the stability of emulsions and of ultrasound in giving lower droplet sizes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Stilbenes from Grape Canes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piñeiro, Zulema; Marrufo-Curtido, Almudena; Serrano, Maria Jose; Palma, Miguel

    2016-06-16

    An analytical ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method has been optimized and validated for the rapid extraction of stilbenes from grape canes. The influence of sample pre-treatment (oven or freeze-drying) and several extraction variables (solvent, sample-solvent ratio and extraction time between others) on the extraction process were analyzed. The new method allowed the main stilbenes in grape canes to be extracted in just 10 min, with an extraction temperature of 75 °C and 60% ethanol in water as the extraction solvent. Validation of the extraction method was based on analytical properties. The resulting RSDs (n = 5) for interday/intraday precision were less than 10%. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied in the analysis of 20 different grape cane samples. The result showed that grape cane byproducts are potentially sources of bioactive compounds of interest for pharmaceutical and food industries.

  18. Ultrasound assisted green synthesis of cerium oxide nanoparticles using Prosopis juliflora leaf extract and their structural, optical and antibacterial properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arunachalam Thirunavukkarasu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CONPs were prepared using ultrasound assisted leaf extract of Prosopis juliflora acting as a reducing as well as stabilizing agent. The synthesized CONPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis, particle size analyzer (PSA, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM. From the UV-Vis analysis, the optical band gap of the prepared CONPs (Eg = 3.62 eV was slightly increased as compared to the bulk ceria (Eg = 3.19 eV. The phytochemicals in the extract reduced the particle size to 3.7 nm ± 0.3 nm, as it is evident from the PSA. FT-IR results confirmed the Ce-O stretching bands by showing the peaks at 452 cm-1. The Raman spectrumshowed a characteristic peak shift for CONPs at 461.2 cm-1. XRD analysis revealed the cubic fluorite structure of the synthesizednanoparticles with the lattice constant, a of 5.415 Å and unit cell volume, V of 158.813 Å3. XPS signals were used to determine the concentration of Ce3+ and Ce4+ in the prepared CONPs and it was found that major amount of cerium exist in the Ce4+ state. HRTEM images showed spherical shaped particles with an average size of 15 nm. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of the prepared CONPs was evaluated and their efficacies were compared with the conventional antibiotics using disc diffusion assay against a set of Gram positive (G+ bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia and Gram negative (G- bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris. The results suggested that CONPs showed antibacterial activity with significant variations due to the differences in the membrane structure and cell wall composition among the two groups tested.

  19. Research status in ultra-precision machining of silicon carbide parts by oxidation-assisted polishing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinmin SHEN

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Oxidation-assisted polishing is an important machining method for obtaining SiC parts with high precision. Through plasma oxidation, thermal oxidation, and anodic oxidation, soft oxide can be obtained on the RS-SiC substrate. With the assistance of abrasive polishing to remove the oxide rapidly, the material removal rate can be increased and the surface quality can be improved. The research results indicate that the surface roughness root-mean-square (RMS and roughness-average (Ra can reach 0.626 nm and 0.480 nm by plasma oxidation-assisted polishing; in thermal oxidation-assisted polishing, the RMS and Ra can be 0.920 nm and 0.726 nm; in anodic oxidation, the calculated oxidation rate is 5.3 nm/s based on Deal-Grove model, and the RMS and Ra are 4.428 nm and 3.453 nm respectively in anodic oxidation-assisted polishing. The oxidation-assisted polishing can be propitious to improve the process level in machining RS-SiC, which would promote the application of SiC parts in optics and ceramics fields.

  20. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE and Solvent Extraction of Papaya Seed Oil: Yield, Fatty Acid Composition and Triacylglycerol Profile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasanah Mohd Ghazali

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of the current work was to evaluate the suitability of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE for the recovery of oil from papaya seed as compared to conventional extraction techniques (i.e., Soxhlet extraction (SXE and solvent extraction (SE. In the present study, the recovery yield, fatty acid composition and triacylglycerol profile of papaya seed oil obtained from different extraction methods and conditions were compared. Results indicated that both solvent extraction (SE, 12 h/25 °C and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE methods recovered relatively high yields (79.1% and 76.1% of total oil content, respectively. Analysis of fatty acid composition revealed that the predominant fatty acids in papaya seed oil were oleic (18:1, 70.5%–74.7%, palmitic (16:0, 14.9%–17.9%, stearic (18:0, 4.50%–5.25%, and linoleic acid (18:2, 3.63%–4.6%. Moreover, the most abundant triacylglycerols of papaya seed oil were triolein (OOO, palmitoyl diolein (POO and stearoyl oleoyl linolein (SOL. In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE significantly (p < 0.05 influenced the triacylglycerol profile of papaya seed oil, but no significant differences were observed in the fatty acid composition of papaya seed oil extracted by different extraction methods (SXE, SE and UAE and conditions.

  1. Ultrasound assisted biogas production from landfill leachate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oz, Nilgün Ayman; Yarimtepe, Canan Can

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Effect of low frequency ultrasound pretreatment on leachate was investigated. • Three different ultrasound energy inputs (200, 400 and 600 W/l) was applied. • Low-frequency ultrasound treatment increased soluble COD in landfill leachate. • Application of ultrasound to leachate increased biogas production about 40%. • Application of ultrasound to leachate increased total methane production rate about 20%. - Abstract: The aim of this study is to increase biogas production and methane yield from landfill leachate in anaerobic batch reactors by using low frequency ultrasound as a pretreatment step. In the first part of the study, optimum conditions for solubilization of organic matter in leachate samples were investigated using various sonication durations at an ultrasound frequency of 20 kHz. The level of organic matter solubilization during ultrasonic pretreatment experiments was determined by calculating the ratio of soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) to total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD). The sCOD/tCOD ratio was increased from 47% in raw leachate to 63% after 45 min sonication at 600 W/l. Non-parametric Friedman’s test indicated that ultrasonic pretreatment has a significant effect on sCOD parameter for leachate (p < 0.05). In the second part of the study, anaerobic batch reactors were operated for both ultrasonically pretreated and untreated landfill leachate samples in order to assess the effect of sonication on biogas and methane production rate. In anaerobic batch reactor feed with ultrasonically pretreated leachate, 40% more biogas was obtained compared to the control reactor. For statistical analysis, Mann–Whitney U test was performed to compare biogas and methane production rates for raw and pretreated leachate samples and it has been found that ultrasonic pretreatment significantly enhanced biogas and methane production rates from leachate (p < 0.05) in anaerobic batch reactors. The overall results showed that low frequency

  2. Ultrasound assisted biogas production from landfill leachate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oz, Nilgün Ayman, E-mail: nilgunayman@comu.edu.tr; Yarimtepe, Canan Can

    2014-07-15

    Highlights: • Effect of low frequency ultrasound pretreatment on leachate was investigated. • Three different ultrasound energy inputs (200, 400 and 600 W/l) was applied. • Low-frequency ultrasound treatment increased soluble COD in landfill leachate. • Application of ultrasound to leachate increased biogas production about 40%. • Application of ultrasound to leachate increased total methane production rate about 20%. - Abstract: The aim of this study is to increase biogas production and methane yield from landfill leachate in anaerobic batch reactors by using low frequency ultrasound as a pretreatment step. In the first part of the study, optimum conditions for solubilization of organic matter in leachate samples were investigated using various sonication durations at an ultrasound frequency of 20 kHz. The level of organic matter solubilization during ultrasonic pretreatment experiments was determined by calculating the ratio of soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) to total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD). The sCOD/tCOD ratio was increased from 47% in raw leachate to 63% after 45 min sonication at 600 W/l. Non-parametric Friedman’s test indicated that ultrasonic pretreatment has a significant effect on sCOD parameter for leachate (p < 0.05). In the second part of the study, anaerobic batch reactors were operated for both ultrasonically pretreated and untreated landfill leachate samples in order to assess the effect of sonication on biogas and methane production rate. In anaerobic batch reactor feed with ultrasonically pretreated leachate, 40% more biogas was obtained compared to the control reactor. For statistical analysis, Mann–Whitney U test was performed to compare biogas and methane production rates for raw and pretreated leachate samples and it has been found that ultrasonic pretreatment significantly enhanced biogas and methane production rates from leachate (p < 0.05) in anaerobic batch reactors. The overall results showed that low frequency

  3. Optimization of Ultrasound Assisted Extraction of Functional Ingredients from Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni Leaves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Šic Žlabur, Jana; Voća, Sandra; Dobričević, Nadica; Brnčić, Mladen; Dujmić, Filip; Rimac Brnčić, Suzana

    2015-04-01

    The aim of the present study was to reveal an effective extraction procedure for maximization of the yield of steviol glycosides and total phenolic compounds as well as antioxidant activity in stevia extracts. Ultrasound assisted extraction was compared with conventional solvent extraction. The examined solvents were water (100°C/24 h) and 70% ethanol (at 70°C for 30 min). Qualitative and quantitative analyses of steviol glycosides in the extracts obtained were performed using high performance liquid chromatography. Total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and radical scavenging capacity by 2, 2-azino-di-3-ethylbenzothialozine- sulphonic acid) assay were also determined. The highest content of steviol glycosides, total phenolic compounds, and flavonoids in stevia extracts were obtained when ultrasound assisted extraction was used. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was correlated with the total amount of phenolic compounds. The results indicated that the examined sonication parameters represented as the probe diameter (7 and 22 mm) and treatment time (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 min) significantly contributed to the yield of steviol glycosides, total phenolic compounds, and flavonoids. The optimum conditions for the maximum yield of steviol glycosides, total phenolic compounds, and flavonoids were as follows: extraction time 10 min, probe diameter 22 mm, and temperature 81.2°C.

  4. Ultrasound-Assisted Thoracic Paravertebral Block Reduces Intraoperative Opioid Requirement and Improves Analgesia after Breast Cancer Surgery: A Randomized, Controlled, Single-Center Trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lijian Pei

    Full Text Available The contribution of ultrasound-assisted thoracic paravertebral block to postoperative analgesia remains unclear. We compared the effect of a combination of ultrasound assisted-thoracic paravertebral block and propofol general anesthesia with opioid and sevoflurane general anesthesia on volatile anesthetic, propofol and opioid consumption, and postoperative pain in patients having breast cancer surgery.Patients undergoing breast cancer surgery were randomly assigned to ultrasound-assisted paravertebral block with propofol general anesthesia (PPA group, n = 121 or fentanyl with sevoflurane general anesthesia (GA group, n = 126. Volatile anesthetic, propofol and opioid consumption, and postoperative pain intensity were compared between the groups using noninferiority and superiority tests.Patients in the PPA group required less sevoflurane than those in the GA group (median [interquartile range] of 0 [0, 0] vs. 0.4 [0.3, 0.6] minimum alveolar concentration [MAC]-hours, less intraoperative fentanyl requirements (100 [50, 100] vs. 250 [200, 300]μg,, less intense postoperative pain (median visual analog scale score 2 [1, 3.5] vs. 3 [2, 4.5], but more propofol (median 529 [424, 672] vs. 100 [100, 130] mg. Noninferiority was detected for all four outcomes; one-tailed superiority tests for each outcome were highly significant at P<0.001 in the expected directions.The combination of propofol anesthesia with ultrasound-assisted paravertebral block reduces intraoperative volatile anesthetic and opioid requirements, and results in less post operative pain in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.ClinicalTrial.gov NCT00418457.

  5. Ultrasound assisted nucleation and growth characteristics of glycine polymorphs--a combined experimental and analytical approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renuka Devi, K; Raja, A; Srinivasan, K

    2015-05-01

    For the first time, the effect of ultrasound in the diagnostic frequency range of 1-10 MHz on the nucleation and growth characteristics of glycine has been explored. The investigation employing the ultrasonic interferometer was carried out at a constant insonation time over a wide range of relative supersaturation from σ=-0.09 to 0.76 in the solution. Ultrasound promotes only α nucleation and completely inhibits both the β and γ nucleation in the system. The propagation of ultrasound assisted mass transport facilitates nucleation even at very low supersaturation levels in the solution. The presence of ultrasound exhibits a profound effect on nucleation and growth characteristics in terms of decrease in induction period, increase in nucleation rate and decrease in crystal size than its absence in the solution. With an increase in the frequency of ultrasound, a further decrease in induction period, increase in nucleation rate and decrease in the size of the crystal is noticed even at the same relative supersaturation levels. The increase in the nucleation rate explains the combined dominating effects of both the ultrasound frequency and the supersaturation in the solution. Analytically, the nucleation parameters of the nucleated polymorph have been deduced at different ultrasonic frequencies based on the classical nucleation theory and correlations with the experimental results have been obtained. Structural affirmation of the nucleated polymorph has been ascertained by powder X-ray diffraction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Stability of Anthocyanins from Red Grape Skins under Pressurized Liquid Extraction and Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Liazid

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The stability of anthocyanins from grape skins after applying different extraction techniques has been determined. The following compounds, previously extracted from real samples, were assessed: delphinidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-glucoside, petunidin 3-glucoside, peonidin 3-glucoside, malvidin 3-glucoside, peonidin 3-acetylglucoside, malvidin 3-acetylglucoside, malvidin 3-caffeoylglucoside, petunidin 3-p-coumaroylglucoside and malvidin 3-p-coumaroylglucoside (trans. The techniques used were ultrasound-assisted extraction and pressurized liquid extraction. In ultrasound-assisted extraction, temperatures up to 75 °C can be applied without degradation of the aforementioned compounds. In pressurized liquid extraction the anthocyanins were found to be stable up to 100 °C. The relative stabilities of both the glycosidic and acylated forms were evaluated. Acylated derivatives were more stable than non-acylated forms. The differences between the two groups of compounds became more marked on working at higher temperatures and on using extraction techniques with higher levels of oxygen in the extraction media.

  7. Optimization of enzymes-microwave-ultrasound assisted extraction of Lentinus edodes polysaccharides and determination of its antioxidant activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Chaomin; Fan, Xiuzhi; Fan, Zhe; Shi, Defang; Gao, Hong

    2018-05-01

    Enzymes-microwave-ultrasound assisted extraction (EMUE) method had been used to extract Lentinus edodes polysaccharides (LEPs). The enzymatic temperature, enzymatic pH, microwave power and microwave time were optimized by response surface methodology. The yields, properties and antioxidant activities of LEPs from EMUE and other extraction methods including hot-water extraction, enzymes-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction were evaluated. The results showed that the highest LEPs yield of 9.38% was achieved with enzymatic temperature of 48°C, enzymatic pH of 5.0, microwave power of 440W and microwave time of 10min, which correlated well with the predicted value of 9.79%. Additionally, LEPs from different extraction methods possessed typical absorption peak of polysaccharides, which meant different extraction methods had no significant effects on type of glycosidic bonds and sugar ring of LEPs. However, SEM images of LEPs from different extraction methods were significantly different. Moreover, the different LEPs all showed antioxidant activities, but LEPs from EMUE showed the highest reducing power when compared to other LEPs. The results indicated LEPs from EMUE can be used as natural antioxidant component in the pharmaceutical and functional food industries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Ultrasound assisted simultaneous reduction and direct functionalization of graphene oxide with thermal and cytotoxicity profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maktedar, Shrikant S; Avashthi, Gopal; Singh, Man

    2017-01-01

    The new sonochemical approach for simultaneous reduction and direct functionalization of graphene oxide (GrO) has been developed. The GrO was functionalized with 2-Aminobenzoxazole (2-ABOZ) in twenty min with complete deletion of hazardous steps. The significance of ultrasound was exemplified with the comparative conventional methods. The newly prepared f-(2-ABOZ)GrO was extensively characterized with near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, 13 C solid state NMR, XPS, XRD, HRTEM, SAED, AFM, Raman, UV-vis, FTIR and TGA. The thermal stability of f-(2-ABOZ)GrO was confirmed with total percentage weight loss in TGA. The biological activity of f-(2-ABOZ)GrO was explored with MCF-7 and Vero cell lines. The inherent cytotoxicity was evaluated with SRB assay at 10, 20, 40 and 80μgmL -1 . The estimated cell viabilities were >78% with f-(2-ABOZ) GrO. A high cytocompatibility of f-(2-ABOZ)GrO was ensured with in vitro evaluation on living cell lines, and low toxicity of f-(2-ABOZ)GrO was confirmed its excellent biocompatibility. The morphological effect on Vero cell line evidently supports the formation of biocompatible f-(2-ABOZ)GrO. Therefore, f-(2-ABOZ)GrO was emerged as an advanced functional material for thermally stable biocompatible coatings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of phenolic compounds from olive cake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mojerlou, Zohreh; Elhamirad, Amirhhossein

    2018-03-01

    The use of ultrasound in ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is one of the main applications of this technology in food industry. This study aimed to optimize UAE conditions for olive cake extract (OCE) through response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal UAE conditions were obtained with extraction temperature of 56 °C, extraction time of 3 min, duty cycle of 0.6 s, and solid to solvent ratio of 3.6%. At the optimum conditions, the total phenolic compounds (TPC) content and antioxidant activity (AA) were measured 4.04 mg/g and 68.9%, respectively. The linear term of temperature had the most effect on TPC content and AA of OCE prepared by UAE. Protocatechuic acid and cinnamic acid were characterized as the highest (19.5%) and lowest (1.6%) phenolic compound measured in OCE extracted by UAE. This research revealed that UAE is an effective method to extract phenolic compounds from olive cake. RSM successfully optimized UAE conditions for OCE.

  10. Ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy methodology: retrospective comparison of the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy approach versus the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy technology represents the current standard of care for the evaluation of indeterminate and suspicious lesions seen on diagnostic breast ultrasound. Yet, there remains much debate as to which particular method of ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy provides the most accurate and optimal diagnostic information. The aim of the current study was to compare and contrast the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy approach and the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy approach. Methods A retrospective analysis was done of all ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy procedures performed by either the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy approach or the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy approach by a single surgeon from July 2001 through June 2009. Results Among 1443 ultrasound-guided diagnostic breast biopsy procedures performed, 724 (50.2%) were by the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy technique and 719 (49.8%) were by the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy technique. The total number of false negative cases (i.e., benign findings instead of invasive breast carcinoma) was significantly greater (P = 0.008) in the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy group (8/681, 1.2%) as compared to in the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy group (0/652, 0%), with an overall false negative rate of 2.1% (8/386) for the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy group as compared to 0% (0/148) for the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy group. Significantly more (P guided diagnostic breast biopsy procedure. Significantly more (P guided diagnostic breast biopsy procedure. Conclusions In appropriately selected cases, the 8-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy approach appears to be advantageous to the spring-loaded 14-gauge core biopsy approach for providing the most accurate and optimal diagnostic information. PMID:21835024

  11. [Ultrasound induced the formation of nitric oxide and nitrosonium ions in water and aqueous solutions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepuro, I I; Adamchuk, R I; Stepuro, V I

    2004-01-01

    Nitric oxide, nitrosonium ions, nitrites, and nitrates are formed in water saturated with air under the action of ultrasound. Nitrosonium ions react with water and hydrogen peroxide to form nitrites and nitrates in sonicated solution, correspondingly. Nitric oxide is practically completely released from sonicated water into the atmosphere and reacts with air oxygen, forming NOx compounds. The oxidation of nitric oxide in aqueous medium by hydroxyl radicals and dissolved oxygen is a minor route of the formation of nitrites and nitrates in ultrasonic field.

  12. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Stilbenes from Grape Canes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zulema Piñeiro

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available An analytical ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE method has been optimized and validated for the rapid extraction of stilbenes from grape canes. The influence of sample pre-treatment (oven or freeze-drying and several extraction variables (solvent, sample-solvent ratio and extraction time between others on the extraction process were analyzed. The new method allowed the main stilbenes in grape canes to be extracted in just 10 min, with an extraction temperature of 75 °C and 60% ethanol in water as the extraction solvent. Validation of the extraction method was based on analytical properties. The resulting RSDs (n = 5 for interday/intraday precision were less than 10%. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied in the analysis of 20 different grape cane samples. The result showed that grape cane byproducts are potentially sources of bioactive compounds of interest for pharmaceutical and food industries.

  13. Kinetic Study on Ultrasound Assisted Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Widayat

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to study a kinetic model of biodiesel production from waste cooking oil assisted by ultrasound power. The model considered the biodiesel production process as a 2nd order reversible reaction, while its kinetic parameters were estimated using MATLAB, based on data extracted from Hingu, et al. [1]. The data represented experiments under low-frequency ultrasonic wave (20 kHz and variations of temperature, power, catalyst concentration, and alcohol-oil molar ratio. Statistical analysis showed that the proposed model fits well to the experimental data with a determination coefficient (R2 higher than 0.9.

  14. MRI-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy: comparison with stereotactically guided and ultrasound-guided techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Imschweiler, Thomas; Freiwald, Bianka; Kubik-Huch, Rahel A. [Kantonspital Baden AG, Institute for Radiology, Baden (Switzerland); Haueisen, Harald [Kantonspital Aarau AG, Institute for Radiology, Aarau (Switzerland); Kampmann, Gert [Clinica Sant' Anna, Lugano, Sorengo (Switzerland); Rageth, Luzi [Adjumed Services AG, Zurich (Switzerland); Seifert, Burkhardt [Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Zurich, Division of Biostatistics, Zuerich (Switzerland); Rageth, Christoph [Breast Centre, Zurich (Switzerland)

    2014-01-15

    To analyse the development of MRI-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB) in Switzerland and to compare the procedure with stereotactically guided and ultrasound-guided VAB. We performed a retrospective analysis of VABs between 2009 and 2011. A total of 9,113 VABs were performed. Of these, 557 were MRI guided. MRI-guided VAB showed the highest growth rate (97 %) of all three procedures. The technical success rates for MRI-guided, stereotactically guided and ultrasound-guided VAB were 98.4 % (548/557), 99.1 % (5,904/5,960) and 99.6 % (2,585/2,596), respectively. There were no significant differences (P = 0.12) between the MRI-guided and the stereotactically guided procedures. The technical success rate for ultrasound-guided VAB was significantly higher than that for MRI-guided VAB (P < 0.001). There were no complications using MRI-guided VAB requiring open surgery. The malignancy diagnosis rate for MRI-guided VAB was similar to that for stereotactically guided VAB (P = 0.35). MRI-guided VAB is a safe and accurate procedure that provides insight into clinical breast findings. (orig.)

  15. The effects of temperature and frequencies in ultrasound assisted extraction of phycocyanin from microalgae Spirulina sp

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hadiyanto,, E-mail: hadiyanto@live.undip.ac.id; Suttrisnorhadi,; Soetrisnanto, Danny; Azizah, Nur [Department of Chemical Engineering, Diponegoro University, Jl. Prof. Soedarto, SH-Tembalang, Semarang 50239 INDONESIA (Indonesia); Sutanto, Heri [Physic Department, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Diponegoro University (Indonesia); Suzery, Meiny [Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Diponegoro University (Indonesia)

    2015-12-29

    Microalgae Spirulina sp has been identified as source of protein and other high added value compounds. One of the compounds is phycocyanin as also known for antioxidant use. The extraction of this compound by using conventional method (soxhlet extraction) resulted low yield and longer processing time. This research was aimed to extract phycocyanin by using an extraction assisted by ultrasound irradiation. The extraction was performed by using variable of ultrasound frequency and extraction temperature and ethanol was used as a solvent. The result showed that yield of phycocyanin extracted by conventional method was 11.13% while the ultrasound irradiation could increase the yield up to 15.61% at constant frequency of 42 kHz, while the optimum temperature was obtained at 45°C. The analysis of variable interactions showed that both temperature and time has an interaction and temperature was the highest variable in increasing the yield. The conclusion of this research was the ultrasound could improve significantly the efficiency of extraction as well as activity of phycocyanin extracted from microalgae.

  16. The effects of temperature and frequencies in ultrasound assisted extraction of phycocyanin from microalgae Spirulina sp

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadiyanto, Suttrisnorhadi, Sutanto, Heri; Suzery, Meiny; Soetrisnanto, Danny; Azizah, Nur

    2015-12-01

    Microalgae Spirulina sp has been identified as source of protein and other high added value compounds. One of the compounds is phycocyanin as also known for antioxidant use. The extraction of this compound by using conventional method (soxhlet extraction) resulted low yield and longer processing time. This research was aimed to extract phycocyanin by using an extraction assisted by ultrasound irradiation. The extraction was performed by using variable of ultrasound frequency and extraction temperature and ethanol was used as a solvent. The result showed that yield of phycocyanin extracted by conventional method was 11.13% while the ultrasound irradiation could increase the yield up to 15.61% at constant frequency of 42 kHz, while the optimum temperature was obtained at 45°C. The analysis of variable interactions showed that both temperature and time has an interaction and temperature was the highest variable in increasing the yield. The conclusion of this research was the ultrasound could improve significantly the efficiency of extraction as well as activity of phycocyanin extracted from microalgae.

  17. The effects of temperature and frequencies in ultrasound assisted extraction of phycocyanin from microalgae Spirulina sp

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hadiyanto,; Suttrisnorhadi,; Soetrisnanto, Danny; Azizah, Nur; Sutanto, Heri; Suzery, Meiny

    2015-01-01

    Microalgae Spirulina sp has been identified as source of protein and other high added value compounds. One of the compounds is phycocyanin as also known for antioxidant use. The extraction of this compound by using conventional method (soxhlet extraction) resulted low yield and longer processing time. This research was aimed to extract phycocyanin by using an extraction assisted by ultrasound irradiation. The extraction was performed by using variable of ultrasound frequency and extraction temperature and ethanol was used as a solvent. The result showed that yield of phycocyanin extracted by conventional method was 11.13% while the ultrasound irradiation could increase the yield up to 15.61% at constant frequency of 42 kHz, while the optimum temperature was obtained at 45°C. The analysis of variable interactions showed that both temperature and time has an interaction and temperature was the highest variable in increasing the yield. The conclusion of this research was the ultrasound could improve significantly the efficiency of extraction as well as activity of phycocyanin extracted from microalgae

  18. Synthesis and characterization of ultrasound assisted “graphene oxide–magnetite” hybrid, and investigation of its adsorption properties for Sr(II) and Co(II) ions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tayyebi, Ahmad; Outokesh, Mohammad, E-mail: Outokesh@sharif.edu; Moradi, Shahab; Doram, Amir

    2015-10-30

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Narrow size magnetite NPs were synthesized by ultrasound assisted coprecipitaion method. • A formation mechanism for deposition of magnetite NPs on graphene oxide is proposed. • The formation mechanism supported using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. • The modified Langevin equation was used for size estimation of magnetite NPs on M–GO. • Adsorption properties of M–GO for Co(II) and Sr(II) were investigated. - Abstract: Magnetite nanoparticles with a size distribution of 15–21 nm were synthesized and decorated onto surface of graphene oxide by ultrasound assisted precipitation. Size and size distribution of the obtained M–GO hybrid were appreciably finer than the hybrids prepared by stirring method. M–GO is a superparamagnetic material with saturation magnetization of 31 emu g{sup −1}. The Langevin equation was successfully applied for estimation of size of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles in M–GO hybrid, with maximum error of 17.5%. The study put forward a formation mechanism for M–GO, based on instrumental analyses. Adsorption isotherms of Sr{sup 2+} and Co{sup 2+} ions, which were fitted by Langmuir monolayer model, displayed two-fold higher capacity for Co{sup 2+} ions, presumably due to its similarity to Fe{sup 2+} (of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} component). Uptake of both Co{sup 2+} and Sr{sup 2+} ions were endothermic, and spontaneous, however the former proceeded through inner-shell complex formation, while the latter took place via ion exchange mechanism. Rate of adsorption of Co{sup 2+} was faster, but for both ions, chemical reaction was the rate determining step. Sorption of Sr{sup 2+} and Co{sup 2+} ions greatly increased at pHs above 5, where (1) surface zeta potential changed its sign, and (2) deprotonating reactions at the surface became complete.

  19. Robot-assisted automatic ultrasound calibration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aalamifar, Fereshteh; Cheng, Alexis; Kim, Younsu; Hu, Xiao; Zhang, Haichong K; Guo, Xiaoyu; Boctor, Emad M

    2016-10-01

    Ultrasound (US) calibration is the process of determining the unknown transformation from a coordinate frame such as the robot's tooltip to the US image frame and is a necessary task for any robotic or tracked US system. US calibration requires submillimeter-range accuracy for most applications, but it is a time-consuming and repetitive task. We provide a new framework for automatic US calibration with robot assistance and without the need for temporal calibration. US calibration based on active echo (AE) phantom was previously proposed, and its superiority over conventional cross-wire phantom-based calibration was shown. In this work, we use AE to guide the robotic arm motion through the process of data collection; we combine the capability of the AE point to localize itself in the frame of the US image with the automatic motion of the robotic arm to provide a framework for calibrating the arm to the US image automatically. We demonstrated the efficacy of the automated method compared to the manual method through experiments. To highlight the necessity of frequent ultrasound calibration, it is demonstrated that the calibration precision changed from 1.67 to 3.20 mm if the data collection is not repeated after a dismounting/mounting of the probe holder. In a large data set experiment, similar reconstruction precision of automatic and manual data collection was observed, while the time was reduced by 58 %. In addition, we compared ten automatic calibrations with ten manual ones, each performed in 15 min, and showed that all the automatic ones could converge in the case of setting the initial matrix as identity, while this was not achieved by manual data sets. Given the same initial matrix, the repeatability of the automatic was [0.46, 0.34, 0.80, 0.47] versus [0.42, 0.51, 0.98, 1.15] mm in the manual case for the US image four corners. The submillimeter accuracy requirement of US calibration makes frequent data collections unavoidable. We proposed an automated

  20. The utilization of an ultrasound-guided 8-gauge vacuum-assisted breast biopsy system as an innovative approach to accomplishing complete eradication of multiple bilateral breast fibroadenomas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Povoski Stephen P

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy technology is extremely useful for diagnostic biopsy of suspicious breast lesions and for attempted complete excision of appropriately selected presumed benign breast lesions. Case presentation A female patient presented with 16 breast lesions (eight within each breast, documented on ultrasound and all presumed to be fibroadenomas. Over a ten and one-half month period of time, 14 of these 16 breast lesions were removed under ultrasound guidance during a total of 11 separate 8-gauge Mammotome® excision procedures performed during seven separate sessions. Additionally, two of these 16 breast lesions were removed by open surgical excision. A histopathologic diagnosis of fibroadenoma and/or fibroadenomatous changes was confirmed at all lesion excision sites. Interval follow-up ultrasound imaging revealed no evidence of a residual lesion at the site of any of the 16 original breast lesions. Conclusion This report describes an innovative approach of utilizing ultrasound-guided 8-gauge vacuum-assisted breast biopsy technology for assisting in achieving complete eradication of multiple bilateral fibroadenomas in a patient who presented with 16 documented breast lesions. As such, this innovative approach is highly recommended in similar appropriately selected patients.

  1. Ultrasound-Assisted Esterification of Valeric Acid to Alkyl Valerates Promoted by Biosilicified Lipases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soledad Cebrián-García

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available A novel, environmentally friendly, and sustainable ultrasound-assisted methodology in the valorization of valeric acid to alkyl valerate using a biosilicified lipase from Candida antarctica is reported. This one-pot room temperature methodology of enzyme biosilicification leads to biosilicified lipases with improved activity and reaction efficiency as compared to free enzymes. Yields in the ultrasound-promoted esterification of valeric acid was ca. 90% in 2 h with 15% m/v of biosilicified lipase (Bio-lipase; 616 U/g biocatalyst enzymatic activity and a molar ratio 1:2 (valeric acid:ethanol, slightly superior to that observed by the free enzyme (75% conversion, 583U/g biocatalyst enzymatic activity. The reuse of enzymes in these conditions was tested and the results show a relatively good reusability of these biosilicified enzymes under the investigated conditions, particularly preserving fairly stable specific activities (616 vs. 430 U/g biocatalyst after four reuses.

  2. Ultrasound assisted direct transesterification of algae for biodiesel production : Analysis of emission characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Namasivayam Manickam

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Recently, the algae-for-fuel concept has gained renewed interest with energy prices fluctuating widely. Due to some restrictions over the oil extraction from algae, direct transesterification may be considered as a good alternative. In this study, to improve the performance of direct transesterification, ultrasound induction was carried out. A sonicator probe was used to induce the direct transesterification of Cladophora fracta, a freshwater macro alga, which contains 14% lipid on dry biomass basis. Due to ultrasonication about 25% increased biodiesel yields were obtained and the biodiesel thus prepared was analyzed for emission characteristics. The analysis results showed that Cladophora biodiesel emits 18 mg/L of CO whereas petroleum diesel emits 50 mg/L. Similarly, the emission of NOx and particulate matter also were reduced to a considerable level. The Cladophora is a suitable source of biodiesel by ultrasound assisted direct transesterification in industrial level in the future.

  3. Green ultrasound-assisted extraction of anthocyanin and phenolic compounds from purple sweet potato using response surface methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Zhenzhou; Guan, Qingyan; Guo, Ying; He, Jingren; Liu, Gang; Li, Shuyi; Barba, Francisco J.; Jaffrin, Michel Y.

    2016-01-01

    Response surface methodology was used to optimize experimental conditions for ultrasound-assisted extraction of valuable components (anthocyanins and phenolics) from purple sweet potatoes using water as a solvent. The Box-Behnken design was used for optimizing extraction responses of anthocyanin extraction yield, phenolic extraction yield, and specific energy consumption. Conditions to obtain maximal anthocyanin extraction yield, maximal phenolic extraction yield, and minimal specific energy consumption were different; an overall desirability function was used to search for overall optimal conditions: extraction temperature of 68ºC, ultrasonic treatment time of 52 min, and a liquid/solid ratio of 20. The optimized anthocyanin extraction yield, phenolic extraction yield, and specific energy consumption were 4.91 mg 100 g-1 fresh weight, 3.24 mg g-1 fresh weight, and 2.07 kWh g-1, respectively, with a desirability of 0.99. This study indicates that ultrasound-assisted extraction should contribute to a green process for valorization of purple sweet potatoes.

  4. Optimisation of ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration of sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) using response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oladejo, Ayobami Olayemi; Ma, Haile

    2016-08-01

    Sweet potato is a highly nutritious tuber crop that is rich in β-carotene. Osmotic dehydration is a pretreatment method for drying of fruit and vegetables. Recently, ultrasound technology has been applied in food processing because of its numerous advantages which include time saving, little damage to the quality of the food. Thus, there is need to investigate and optimise the process parameters [frequency (20-50 kHz), time (10-30 min) and sucrose concentration (20-60% w/v)] for ultrasound-assisted osmotic dehydration of sweet potato using response surface methodology. The optimised values obtained were frequency of 33.93 kHz, time of 30 min and sucrose concentration of 35.69% (w/v) to give predicted values of 21.62, 4.40 and 17.23% for water loss, solid gain and weight reduction, respectively. The water loss and weight reduction increased when the ultrasound frequency increased from 20 to 35 kHz and then decreased as the frequency increased from 35 to 50 kHz. The results from this work show that low ultrasound frequency favours the osmotic dehydration of sweet potato and also reduces the use of raw material (sucrose) needed for the osmotic dehydration of sweet potato. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  5. Nano-coating of beta-galactosidase onto the surface of lactose by using an ultrasound-assisted technique

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Genina, Natalja; Räikkönen, Heikki; Heinämäki, Jyrki

    2010-01-01

    We nano-coated powdered lactose particles with the enzyme beta-galactosidase using an ultrasound-assisted technique. Atomization of the enzyme solution did not change its activity. The amount of surface-attached beta-galactosidase was measured through its enzymatic reaction product D-galactose us......We nano-coated powdered lactose particles with the enzyme beta-galactosidase using an ultrasound-assisted technique. Atomization of the enzyme solution did not change its activity. The amount of surface-attached beta-galactosidase was measured through its enzymatic reaction product D......-galactose using a standardized method. A near-linear increase was obtained in the thickness of the enzyme coat as the treatment proceeded. Interestingly, lactose, which is a substrate for beta-galactosidase, did not undergo enzymatic degradation during processing and remained unchanged for at least 1 month....... Stability of protein-coated lactose was due to the absence of water within the powder, as it was dry after the treatment procedure. In conclusion, we were able to attach the polypeptide to the core particles and determine precisely the coating efficiency of the surface-treated powder using a simple approach....

  6. Ultrasound-assisted leaching of rare earths from the weathered crust elution-deposited ore using magnesium sulfate without ammonia-nitrogen pollution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Shaohua; Pei, Jiannan; Jiang, Feng; Li, Shiwei; Peng, Jinhui; Zhang, Libo; Ju, Shaohua; Srinivasakannan, Chandrasekar

    2018-03-01

    The in situ leaching process of China's unique ion-adsorption rare earth ores has caused severe environmental damages due to the use of (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 solution. This study reports that magnesium sulfate (MgSO 4 ) as a leaching agent would replace (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 by ultrasonically assisted leaching to deal with the ammonia-nitrogen pollution problem and enhance leaching process. At leaching conditions of 3wt% MgSO 4 concentration, 3:1L/S ratio and 30min, the total rare earth leaching efficiency reaches 75.5%. Ultrasound-assisted leaching experiments show that the leaching efficiency of rare earths is substantially increased by introducing ultrasound, and nearly completely leached out after two stage leaching process. Thus, ultrasonic-assisted leaching process with MgSO 4 is not only effective but also environmentally friendly, and beneficial to leach rare earths at laboratory scale. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Enzymatic hydrolysis (pepsin assisted by ultrasound in the functional Properties of hydrolyzates from different collagens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra Roseline Vidal

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Enzymatic hydrolysis (pepsin assisted with or without ultrasound in the functional properties of hydrolyzates from different collagens were analyzed. Degree of hydrolysis, antioxidant activity (DPPH and antimicrobial activity (MIC were assessed. The treatment that resulted in greater antioxidant activity for the fiber sample was with the use of 4% of enzyme and concomitant ultrasound (40.7%, leading to a degree of hydrolysis of 21.7%. For the powdered fiber sample the hydrolysis treatment with use of 4% of enzyme resulted in lower protein content (6.97mg/mL, higher degree of hydrolysis (19.9% and greater antioxidant activity (38.6%. The hydrolyzates showed inhibitory capacity against gram-negative bacteria Salmonella choleraesuis and gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. It can be concluded that enzymatic hydrolysis concomitant or not with the use of ultrasound increased the functionality of the fiber and powdered fiber samples, for the other samples its use as supplementary treatment was not productive, due to the worse results of antioxidant activity (DPPH reported. However, it provided greater hydrolysis degree.

  8. Production of graphene quantum dots by ultrasound-assisted exfoliation in supercritical CO2/H2O medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Hanyang; Xue, Chen; Hu, Guoxin; Zhu, Kunxu

    2017-07-01

    In this research, three kinds of graphene quantum dots (GQDs)-pristine graphene quantum dots (PGQDs), expanded graphene quantum dots (EGQDs) and graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs)-were produced from natural graphite, expanded graphite, and oxide graphite respectively in an ultrasound-assisted supercritical CO 2 (scCO 2 )/H 2 O system. The effects of aqueous solution content ratio, system pressure, and ultrasonic power on the yields of different kinds of GQDs were investigated. According to these experiment results, the combination of the intense knocking force generated from high-pressure acoustic cavitation in a scCO 2 /H 2 O system and the superior penetration ability of scCO 2 was considered to be the key to the successful exfoliation of such tiny pieces from bulk graphite. An interesting result was found that, contrary to common experience, the yield of PGQDs from natural graphite was much higher than that of GOQDs from graphite oxide. Based on the experimental analysis, the larger interlayer resistance of natural graphite, which hindered the insertion of scCO 2 molecules, and the hydrophobic property of natural graphite surface, which made the planar more susceptible to the attack of ultrasonic collapsing bubbles, were deduced to be the two main reasons for this result. The differences in characteristics among the three kinds of GQDs were also studied and compared in this research. In our opinion, this low-cost and time-saving method may provide an alternative green route for the production of various kinds of GQDs, especially PGQDs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Phase structuring in metal alloys: Ultrasound-assisted top-down approach to engineering of nanostructured catalytic materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cherepanov, Pavel V; Andreeva, Daria V

    2017-03-01

    High intensity ultrasound (HIUS) is a novel and efficient tool for top-down nanostructuring of multi-phase metal systems. Ultrasound-assisted structuring of the phase in metal alloys relies on two main mechanisms including interfacial red/ox reactions and temperature driven solid state phase transformations which affect surface composition and morphology of metals. Physical and chemical properties of sonication medium strongly affects the structuring pathways as well as morphology and composition of catalysts. HIUS can serve as a simple, fast, and effective approach for the tuning of structure and surface properties of metal particles, opening the new perspectives in design of robust and efficient catalysts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Spatial and temporal profile of cisplatin delivery by ultrasound-assisted intravesical chemotherapy in a bladder cancer model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noboru Sasaki

    Full Text Available Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is one of the most common tumors of the urinary tract. Despite the current multimodal therapy, recurrence and progression of disease have been challenging problems. We hereby introduced a new approach, ultrasound-assisted intravesical chemotherapy, intravesical instillation of chemotherapeutic agents and microbubbles followed by ultrasound exposure. We investigated the feasibility of the treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. In order to evaluate intracellular delivery and cytotoxic effect as a function to the thickness, we performed all experiments using a bladder cancer mimicking 3D culture model. Ultrasound-triggered microbubble cavitation increased both the intracellular platinum concentration and the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin at the thickness of 70 and 122 μm of the culture model. The duration of enhanced cytotoxic effect of cisplatin by ultrasound-triggered microbubble cavitation was approximately 1 hr. Based on the distance and duration of delivery, we further tested the feasibility of repetition of the treatment. Triple treatment increased the effective distance by 1.6-fold. Our results clearly showed spatial and temporal profile of delivery by ultrasound-triggered microbubble cavitation in a tumor-mimicking structure. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the increase in intracellular concentration results in the enhancement of the cytotoxic effect in a structure with the certain thickness. Repetition of ultrasound exposure would be treatment of choice in future clinical application. Our results suggest ultrasound-triggered microbubble cavitation can be repeatable and is promising for the local control of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

  11. Microwave-assisted extraction of coumarin and related compounds from Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pallas as an alternative to Soxhlet and ultrasound-assisted extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martino, Emanuela; Ramaiola, Ilaria; Urbano, Mariangela; Bracco, Francesco; Collina, Simona

    2006-09-01

    Soxhlet extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction (USAE) and microwaves-assisted extraction (MAE) in closed system have been investigated to determine the content of coumarin, o-coumaric and melilotic acids in flowering tops of Melilotus officinalis. The extracts were analyzed with an appropriate HPLC procedure. The reproducibility of extraction and of chromatographic analysis was proved. Taking into account the extraction yield, the cost and the time, we studied the effects of extraction variables on the yield of the above-mentioned compounds. Better results were obtained with MAE (50% v/v aqueous ethanol, two heating cycles of 5 min, 50 degrees C). On the basis of the ratio extraction yield/extraction time, we therefore propose MAE as the most efficient method.

  12. Medium-high frequency ultrasound and ozone based advanced oxidation for amoxicillin removal in water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kıdak, Rana; Doğan, Şifa

    2018-01-01

    In this study, treatment of an antibiotic compound amoxicillin by medium-high frequency ultrasonic irradiation and/or ozonation has been studied. Ultrasonic irradiation process was carried out in a batch reactor for aqueous amoxicillin solutions at three different frequencies (575, 861 and 1141kHz). The applied ultrasonic power was 75W and the diffused power was calculated as 14.6W/L. The highest removal was achieved at 575kHz ultrasonic frequency (>99%) with the highest pseudo first order reaction rate constant 0.04min -1 at pH 10 but the mineralization achieved was around 10%. Presence of alkalinity and humic acid species had negative effect on the removal efficiency (50% decrease). To improve the poor outcomes, ozonation had been applied with or without ultrasound. Ozone removed the amoxicillin at a rate 50 times faster than ultrasound. Moreover, due to the synergistic effect, coupling of ozone and ultrasound gave rise to rate constant of 2.5min -1 (625 times higher than ultrasound). In the processes where ozone was used, humic acid did not show any significant effect because the rate constant was so high that ozone has easily overcome the scavenging effects of natural water constituents. Furthermore, the intermediate compounds, after the incomplete oxidation mechanisms, has been analyzed to reveal the possible degradation pathways of amoxicillin through ultrasonic irradiation and ozonation applications. The outcomes of the intermediate compounds experiments and the toxicity was investigated to give a clear explanation about the safety of the resulting solution. The relevance of all the results concluded that hybrid advanced oxidation system was the best option for amoxicillin removal. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction to obtain mycosterols from Agaricus bisporus L. by response surface methodology and comparison with conventional Soxhlet extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heleno, Sandrina A; Diz, Patrícia; Prieto, M A; Barros, Lillian; Rodrigues, Alírio; Barreiro, Maria Filomena; Ferreira, Isabel C F R

    2016-04-15

    Ergosterol, a molecule with high commercial value, is the most abundant mycosterol in Agaricus bisporus L. To replace common conventional extraction techniques (e.g. Soxhlet), the present study reports the optimal ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions for ergosterol. After preliminary tests, the results showed that solvents, time and ultrasound power altered the extraction efficiency. Using response surface methodology, models were developed to investigate the favourable experimental conditions that maximize the extraction efficiency. All statistical criteria demonstrated the validity of the proposed models. Overall, ultrasound-assisted extraction with ethanol at 375 W during 15 min proved to be as efficient as the Soxhlet extraction, yielding 671.5 ± 0.5mg ergosterol/100 g dw. However, with n-hexane extracts with higher purity (mg ergosterol/g extract) were obtained. Finally, it was proposed for the removal of the saponification step, which simplifies the extraction process and makes it more feasible for its industrial transference. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Computer tomography urography assisted real-time ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy on renal calculus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, You-Qiang; Wu, Jie-Ying; Li, Teng-Cheng; Zheng, Hao-Feng; Liang, Guan-Can; Chen, Yan-Xiong; Hong, Xiao-Bin; Cai, Wei-Zhong; Zang, Zhi-Jun; Di, Jin-Ming

    2017-06-01

    This study aimed to assess the role of pre-designed route on computer tomography urography (CTU) in the ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for renal calculus.From August 2013 to May 2016, a total of 100 patients diagnosed with complex renal calculus in our hospital were randomly divided into CTU group and control group (without CTU assistance). CTU was used to design a rational route for puncturing in CTU group. Ultrasound was used in both groups to establish a working trace in the operation areas. Patients' perioperative parameters and postoperative complications were recorded.All operations were successfully performed, without transferring to open surgery. Time of channel establishment in CTU group (6.5 ± 4.3 minutes) was shorter than the control group (10.0 ± 6.7 minutes) (P = .002). In addition, there was shorter operation time, lower rates of blood transfusion, secondary operation, and less establishing channels. The incidence of postoperative complications including residual stones, sepsis, severe hemorrhage, and perirenal hematoma was lower in CTU group than in control group.Pre-designing puncture route on CTU images would improve the puncturing accuracy, lessen establishing channels as well as improve the security in the ultrasound-guided PCNL for complex renal calculus, but at the cost of increased radiation exposure.

  15. Maceration of Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Common Aromatic Plants Using Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction: An UV-Vis Spectroscopic Investigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ozren Jović

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, garden sage (Salvia officinalis, summer savory (Satureja hortensis, laurel (Laurus nobilis, and other aromatic plants were put in olive oil and exposed to ultrasounds for different duration. Filtrated oils were dissolved in cyclohexane, and UV-Vis measurements were carried out. Absorbance values corresponding to chlorophylls, carotenoids, flavonoids (370 nm, and polyphenols (around 300 nm were measured. In addition, for some samples, total phenols were determined using Folin-Denis reagent and compared with the similar maceration procedure in water solvent (instead of olive oil. Maceration without ultrasound in olive oil for each plant was also compared with ultrasound-assisted extraction. The results show that significant amount of aromatic content can be extracted in olive oil by applying ultrasounds for only few minutes, especially for Salvia officinalis powder. The use of UV-Vis measurements is simple but enough to examine the extent of phenol content extraction through such maceration procedure.

  16. The use of ultrasound and slightly acidic electrolyzed water as alternative technologies in the meat industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flores, D. R. M.,

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The quality of meat from different animal species is defined by chemical, physical sensory and microbiological characteristics, which can be influenced by procedures during the slaughter of animals. Technologies such as ultrasound (US and slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW are being studied in order to assist in food processing and in developing methods that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable. The aim of this paper is to discuss the relationship between US and SAEW in relation to tenderness, microbiology, and oxidation of meat. The meat industry was a pioneer in the use of the ultrasound, which initially aimed to determine the layer of fat on carcasses and subsequently improve the tenderness of the meat. Recently studies mention that the ultrasound and SAEW can influence the microbiological parameters. The combination of both technologies should also be considered, with the possibility of enhancing the antimicrobial effects. However, there is little information regarding oxidative parameters promoted in meat for these two alternative technologies, where the individual or when interspersed use. Knowing the actions and consequences of ultrasound and SAEW in meat will enable the opening of new perspectives about the application of these technologies in the meat industry.

  17. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of polyphenols from native plants in the Mexican desert.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong Paz, Jorge E; Muñiz Márquez, Diana B; Martínez Ávila, Guillermo C G; Belmares Cerda, Ruth E; Aguilar, Cristóbal N

    2015-01-01

    Several plants that are rich in polyphenolic compounds and exhibit biological properties are grown in the desert region of Mexico under extreme climate conditions. These compounds have been recovered by classic methodologies in these plants using organic solvents. However, little information is available regarding the use of alternative extraction technologies, such as ultrasound. In this paper, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) parameters, such as the liquid:solid ratio, solvent concentration and extraction time, were studied using response surface methodology (RSM) for the extraction of polyphenols from desert plants including Jatrophadioica,Flourensiacernua, Turneradiffusa and Eucalyptuscamaldulensis. Key process variables (i.e., liquid:solid ratio and ethanol concentration) exert the greatest influence on the extraction of all of the phenolic compounds (TPC) in the studied plants. The best conditions for the extraction of TPC involved an extraction time of 40min, an ethanol concentration of 35% and a liquid:solid ratio ranging from 8 to 12mlg(-1) depending on the plant. The highest antioxidant activity was obtained in the E. camaldulensis extracts. The results indicated the ability of UAE to obtain polyphenolic antioxidant preparations from desert plants. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Antioxidants from Apium graveolens L. Seeds using Response Surface Methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Şule Dinç Zor

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study, optimum conditions for ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE of antioxidants from Apium graveolens L. seeds were investigated by Response Surface Methodology (RSM. A Box-Behnken Design (BBD was used to evaluate the effect of sonication time (5, 10, 15 min, ultrasound power (60, 120, 180 W and the ratio of extraction solvent in terms of methanol (0, 50, 100% on antioxidant capacity. The optimal UAE conditions for the parameters investigated were 11 min of sonication time, ultrasound power of 131 W and 100% methanol as an extraction solvent. Under these conditions, UAE of antioxidants from the seeds achieved a maximum of 95.08% in respect to 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH radical scavenging activity. Additionally, the high value of the adjusted coefficient of determination (R2adj = 0.9192 and the non-significant difference between experimental and predicted values confirmed the validity of the quadratic polynomial model. Hence, UAE is a suitable, fast, economical and practical technique for the extraction of antioxidants from Apium graveolens L. seeds.

  19. Mechanistic study on ultrasound assisted pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse using metal salt with hydrogen peroxide for bioethanol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramadoss, Govindarajan; Muthukumar, Karuppan

    2016-01-01

    This study presents the ultrasound assisted pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) using metal salt with hydrogen peroxide for bioethanol production. Among the different metal salts used, maximum holocellulose recovery and delignification were achieved with ultrasound assisted titanium dioxide (TiO2) pretreatment (UATP) system. At optimum conditions (1% H2O2, 4 g SCB dosage, 60 min sonication time, 2:100 M ratio of metal salt and H2O2, 75°C, 50% ultrasound amplitude and 70% ultrasound duty cycle), 94.98 ± 1.11% holocellulose recovery and 78.72 ± 0.86% delignification were observed. The pretreated SCB was subjected to dilute acid hydrolysis using 0.25% H2SO4 and maximum xylose, glucose and arabinose concentration obtained were 10.94 ± 0.35 g/L, 14.86 ± 0.12 g/L and 2.52 ± 0.27 g/L, respectively. The inhibitors production was found to be very less (0.93 ± 0.11 g/L furfural and 0.76 ± 0.62 g/L acetic acid) and the maximum theoretical yield of glucose and hemicellulose conversion attained were 85.8% and 77%, respectively. The fermentation was carried out using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and at the end of 72 h, 0.468 g bioethanol/g holocellulose was achieved. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of pretreated SCB was made and its morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The compounds formed during the pretreatment were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Optimization of ultrasound and microwave assisted extractions of polyphenols from black rice (Oryza sativa cv. Poireton) husk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jha, Pankaj; Das, Arup Jyoti; Deka, Sankar Chandra

    2017-11-01

    Phenolic compounds were extracted from the husk of milled black rice (cv. Poireton) by using a combination of ultrasound assisted extraction and microwave assisted extraction. Extraction parameters were optimized by response surface methodology according to a three levels, five variables Box-Behnken design. The appropriate process variables (extraction temperature and extraction time) to maximize the ethanolic extraction of total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity of the extracts were obtained. Extraction of functional components with varying ethanol concentration and microwave time were significantly affected by the process variables. The best possible conditions obtained by RSM for all the factors included 10.02 min sonication time, 49.46 °C sonication temperature, 1:40.79 (w/v) solute solvent ratio, 67.34% ethanol concentration, and 31.11 s microwave time. Under the given solutions, the maximum extraction of phenolics (1.65 mg/g GAE), flavonoids (3.04 mg/100 g), anthocyanins (3.39 mg/100 g) and antioxidants (100%) were predicted, while the experimental values included 1.72 mg/g GAE of total phenolics, 3.01 mg/100 g of flavonoids, 3.36 mg/100 g of anthocyanins and 100% antioxidant activity. The overall results indicated positive impact of co-application of microwave and ultrasound assisted extractions of phenolic compounds from black rice husk.

  1. Ultrasound Assisted Extraction of Phenolic Compounds from Peaches and Pumpkins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altemimi, Ammar; Watson, Dennis G.; Choudhary, Ruplal; Dasari, Mallika R.; Lightfoot, David A.

    2016-01-01

    The ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method was used to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds from pumpkins and peaches. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the effects of three independent variables each with three treatments. They included extraction temperatures (30, 40 and 50°C), ultrasonic power levels (30, 50 and 70%) and extraction times (10, 20 and 30 min). The optimal conditions for extractions of total phenolics from pumpkins were inferred to be a temperature of 41.45°C, a power of 44.60% and a time of 25.67 min. However, an extraction temperature of 40.99°C, power of 56.01% and time of 25.71 min was optimal for recovery of free radical scavenging activity (measured by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) reduction). The optimal conditions for peach extracts were an extraction temperature of 41.53°C, power of 43.99% and time of 27.86 min for total phenolics. However, an extraction temperature of 41.60°C, power of 44.88% and time of 27.49 min was optimal for free radical scavenging activity (judged by from DPPH reduction). Further, the UAE processes were significantly better than solvent extractions without ultrasound. By electron microscopy it was concluded that ultrasonic processing caused damage in cells for all treated samples (pumpkin, peach). However, the FTIR spectra did not show any significant changes in chemical structures caused by either ultrasonic processing or solvent extraction. PMID:26885655

  2. Ultrasound Contrast Agent Microbubble Dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Overvelde, M.L.J.; Vos, Henk; de Jong, N.; Versluis, Michel; Paradossi, Gaio; Pellegretti, Paolo; Trucco, Andrea

    2010-01-01

    Ultrasound contrast agents are traditionally used in ultrasound-assisted organ perfusion imaging. Recently the use of coated microbubbles has been proposed for molecular imaging applications where the bubbles are covered with a layer of targeting ligands to bind specifically to their target cells.

  3. Advantages and disadvantages of high power ultrasound application in the dairy industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mislav Muža

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Preservation of food with thermal sterilisation is usually the most common way nowadays. Besides the positive aim of preservation regarding microorganisms’ reduction, elevated temperature in processing simultaneously causes serious changes in nutritive and organoleptical properties of food. Loss of food quality is related to structure and texture deformations, modification of macromolecules and creation of new compounds coming from reactions that are catalised with temperature. One of the new non-thermal processes that can in large scale improve different processes in food industry is ultrasound. In the last five years, new applications of high power ultrasound (HPU include inactivation of enzymes and microorganisms, assistance in membrane processes, improvement of dairy product texture, improvement of functional properties of proteins etc. High power ultrasound application is used in emulsification and milk homogenization, but in these processes the most important thing is to monitor possible negative effect like oxidation of fats, inactivation of valuable enzymes and denaturation of proteins. Controled and optimized application of ultrasound demands application of specific ultrasound frequency and optimal treatment time. Treatments should be performed at lower temperatures to avoid negative side effects on treated materials.

  4. Effects of Ultrasound Assistance on Dehydration Processes and Bioactive Component Retention of Osmo-Dried Sour Cherries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siucińska, Karolina; Mieszczakowska-Frąc, Monika; Połubok, Aleksandra; Konopacka, Dorota

    2016-07-01

    Despite having numerous health benefits, dried sour cherries have proven to be more acceptable to consumers when infused with sugar or other sweeteners to enhance their flavor, which, in turn, leads to serious anthocyanin losses. For this reason, a consideration was made for the application of ultrasound to accelerate solid gain and shorten drying time, thus favoring bioactive component retention. To determine the usefulness of ultrasound as a tool for sour cherry osmotic infusion enhancement, the effect of sonication time on dehydration effectiveness, as well as the stability of bioactive components during osmotic treatment and consecutive convective drying, was investigated. Fruits were osmo-dehydrated using a 60% sucrose solution for 120 min (40 °C), during which, ultrasound of 25 kHz (0.4 W/cm(2) ), was applied for 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min, after which, the fruits were convectively dried. In the range of the applied ultrasound energy no significant effect of sonication on mass transfer intensification was observed; moreover, longer acoustic treatment seemed to retard moisture removal during subsequent convective drying, which can be related to the breakdown of the parenchyma cell walls caused by the prolonged ultrasound (US) action. It was concluded that although US assistance could be considered neutral for bioactive component retention, excessive sonication time can lead to some anthocyanin deterioration. According to high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, the particular anthocyanin alterations, both during dehydration and final drying, occurred in a similar way. Sonication time prolongation caused approximately 10% more bioactive compound deterioration, than earlier, shorter trials. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

  5. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of natural antioxidants from the flower of Limonium sinuatum: Optimization and comparison with conventional methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Dong-Ping; Zheng, Jie; Zhou, Yue; Li, Ya; Li, Sha; Li, Hua-Bin

    2017-02-15

    Natural antioxidants are widely used as dietary supplements or food additives. An optimized method of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was proposed for the effective extraction of antioxidants from the flowers of Limonium sinuatum and evaluated by response surface methodology. In this study, ethanol concentration, ratio of solvent to solid, ultrasonication time and temperature were investigated and optimized using a central composite rotatable design. The optimum extraction conditions were as follows: ethanol concentration, 60%; ratio of solvent to solid, 56.9:1mL/g; ultrasonication time, 9.8min; and temperature, 40°C. Under the optimal UAE conditions, the experimental values (483.01±15.39μmolTrolox/gDW) matched with those predicted (494.13μmolTrolox/gDW) within a 95% confidence level. In addition, the antioxidant activities of UAE were compared with those of conventional maceration and Soxhlet extraction methods, and the ultrasound-assisted extraction could give higher yield of antioxidants and markedly reduce the extraction time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Ultrasound-Guided Core-Needle Versus Vacuum-Assisted Breast Biopsy: A Cost Analysis Based on the American Society of Breast Surgeons' Mastery of Breast Surgery Registry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grady, Ian; Vasquez, Tony; Tawfik, Sara; Grady, Sean

    2017-03-01

    To evaluate the cost-efficacy of vacuum-assisted ultrasound-guided breast biopsy instruments compared to ultrasound-guided 14-gauge spring-loaded core-needle biopsy. The American Society of Breast Surgeons' Mastery of Breast Surgery Registry was reviewed. Biopsy findings, any rebiopsy, and the instrument used were abstracted for 31,451 ultrasound-guided biopsy procedures performed between 2001 and July 2014. Rates of cancer diagnosis and rebiopsy were calculated for each instrument. A linear mathematical model was developed to calculate total cost per cancer diagnosis, including procedural costs and the costs of any additional surgical rebiopsy procedures. Mean cost per cancer diagnosis with confidence limits was then determined for 14-gauge spring-loaded core-needle biopsy and 14 different vacuum-assisted instruments. For 14-gauge spring-loaded core-needle biopsy, mean cost per cancer diagnosis was $4346 (4327-$4366). For the vacuum-assisted instruments, mean cost per cancer diagnosis ranged from a low of $3742 ($3732-$3752) to a high of $4779 ($4750-$4809). Vacuum-assisted instruments overall were more cost-effective than core with a mean cost per cancer diagnosis of $4052 ($4038-$4067) (p cancer diagnosis of $3978 ($3964-$3991) (p cancer diagnosis of $4369 ($4350-$4388), a result no better than core (p breast biopsy had a lower mean cost per cancer diagnosis than 14-gauge spring-loaded core-needle biopsy. This advantage was only seen in tethered vacuum-assisted instruments. Within device families, larger instruments tended to outperform smaller instruments.

  7. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of amino acids from grapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrera, Ceferino; Ruiz-Rodríguez, Ana; Palma, Miguel; Barroso, Carmelo G

    2015-01-01

    Recent cultivar techniques on vineyards can have a marked influence on the final nitrogen content of grapes, specifically individual amino acid contents. Furthermore, individual amino acid contents in grapes are related to the final aromatic composition of wines. A new ultrasound-assisted method for the extraction of amino acids from grapes has been developed. Several extraction variables, including solvent (water/ethanol mixtures), solvent pH (2-7), temperature (10-70°C), ultrasonic power (20-70%) and ultrasonic frequency (0.2-1.0s(-)(1)), were optimized to guarantee full recovery of the amino acids from grapes. An experimental design was employed to optimize the extraction parameters. The surface response methodology was used to evaluate the effects of the extraction variables. The analytical properties of the new method were established, including limit of detection (average value 1.4mmolkg(-)(1)), limit of quantification (average value 2.6mmolkg(-)(1)), repeatability (average RSD=12.9%) and reproducibility (average RSD=15.7%). Finally, the new method was applied to three cultivars of white grape throughout the ripening period. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Ultrasound assisted extraction of pectin from waste Artocarpus heterophyllus fruit peel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moorthy, I Ganesh; Maran, J Prakash; Ilakya, S; Anitha, S L; Sabarima, S Pooja; Priya, B

    2017-01-01

    Four factors three level face centered central composite response surface design was employed in this study to investigate and optimize the effect of process variables (liquid-solid (LS) ratio (10:1-20:1ml/g), pH (1-2), sonication time (15-30min) and extraction temperature (50-70°C)) on the maximum extraction yield of pectin from waste Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jackfruit) peel by ultrasound assisted extraction method. Numerical optimization method was adapted in this study and the following optimal condition was obtained as follows: Liquid-solid ratio of 15:1ml/g, pH of 1.6, sonication time of 24min and temperature of 60°C. The optimal condition was validated through experiments and the observed value was interrelated with predicted value. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Development of ultrasound-assisted fluorescence imaging of indocyanine green.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morikawa, Hiroyasu; Toyota, Shin; Wada, Kenji; Uchida-Kobayashi, Sawako; Kawada, Norifumi; Horinaka, Hiromichi

    2017-01-01

    Indocyanine green (ICG) accumulation in hepatocellular carcinoma means tumors can be located by fluorescence. However, because of light scattering, it is difficult to detect ICG fluorescence from outside the body. We propose a new fluorescence imaging method that detects changes in the intensity of ICG fluorescence by ultrasound-induced temperature changes. ICG fluorescence intensity decreases as the temperature rises. Therefore, it should theoretically be possible to detect tissue distribution of ICG using ultrasound to heat tissue, moving the point of ultrasound transmission, and monitoring changes in fluorescence intensity. A new probe was adapted for clinical application. It consisted of excitation light from a laser, fluorescence sensing through a light pipe, and heating by ultrasound. We applied the probe to bovine liver to image the accumulation of ICG. ICG emits fluorescence (820 nm) upon light irradiation (783 nm). With a rise in temperature, the fluorescence intensity of ICG decreased by 0.85 %/°C. The distribution of fluorescent ICG was detected using an ultrasonic warming method in a new integrated probe. Modulating fluorescence by changing the temperature using ultrasound can determine where ICG accumulates at a depth, highlighting its potential as a means to locate hepatocellular carcinoma.

  10. Pulsed ultrasound enhances the delivery of nitric oxide from bubble liposomes to ex vivo porcine carotid tissue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sutton JT

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available JT Sutton,1 JL Raymond,1 MC Verleye,2 GJ Pyne-Geithman,3 CK Holland4 1University of Cincinnati, Biomedical Engineering Program, Cincinnati, OH, 2University of Notre Dame Department of Chemical Engineering, Notre Dame, IN, 3University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery and the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute, and Mayfield Clinic, Cincinnati, OH, 4University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Cincinnati, OH, USA Abstract: Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery is a novel technique for enhancing the penetration of drugs into diseased tissue beds noninvasively. By encapsulating drugs into microsized and nanosized liposomes, the therapeutic can be shielded from degradation within the vasculature until delivery to a target site by ultrasound exposure. Traditional in vitro or ex vivo techniques to quantify this delivery profile include optical approaches, cell culture, and electrophysiology. Here, we demonstrate an approach to characterize the degree of nitric oxide (NO delivery to porcine carotid tissue by direct measurement of ex vivo vascular tone. An ex vivo perfusion model was adapted to assess ultrasound-mediated delivery of NO. This potent vasodilator was coencapsulated with inert octafluoropropane gas to produce acoustically active bubble liposomes. Porcine carotid arteries were excised post mortem and mounted in a physiologic buffer solution. Vascular tone was assessed in real time by coupling the artery to an isometric force transducer. NO-loaded bubble liposomes were infused into the lumen of the artery, which was exposed to 1 MHz pulsed ultrasound at a peak-to-peak acoustic pressure amplitude of 0.34 MPa. Acoustic cavitation emissions were monitored passively. Changes in vascular tone were measured and compared with control and sham NO bubble liposome exposures. Our results demonstrate that ultrasound-triggered NO release from bubble liposomes

  11. Ultrasound assisted co-precipitation of nanostructured CuO-ZnO-Al2O3 over HZSM-5: effect of precursor and irradiation power on nanocatalyst properties and catalytic performance for direct syngas to DME.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allahyari, Somaiyeh; Haghighi, Mohammad; Ebadi, Amanollah; Hosseinzadeh, Shahin

    2014-03-01

    Nanostructured CuO-ZnO-Al2O3/HZSM-5 was synthesized from nitrate and acetate precursors using ultrasound assisted co-precipitation method under different irradiation powers. The CuO-ZnO-Al2O3/HZSM-5 nanocatalysts were characterized using XRD, FESEM, BET, FTIR and EDX Dot-mapping analyses. The results indicated precursor type and irradiation power have significant influences on phase structure, morphology, surface area and functional groups. It was observed that the acetate formulated CuO-ZnO-Al2O3/HZSM-5 nanocatalyst have smaller CuO crystals with better dispersion and stronger interaction between components in comparison to nitrate based nanocatalysts. Ultrasound assisted co-precipitation synthesis method resulted in nanocatalyst with more uniform morphology compared to conventional method and increasing irradiation power yields smaller particles with better dispersion and higher surface area. Additionally the crystallinity of CuO is lower at high irradiation powers leading to stronger interaction between metal oxides. The nanocatalysts performance were tested at 200-300 °C, 10-40 bar and space velocity of 18,000-36,000 cm(3)/g h with the inlet gas composition of H2/CO = 2/1 in a stainless steel autoclave reactor. The acetate based nanocatalysts irradiated with higher levels of power exhibited better reactivity in terms of CO conversion and DME yield. While there is an optimal temperature for CO conversion and DME yield in direct synthesis of DME, CO conversion and DME yield both increase with the pressure increase. Furthermore ultrasound assisted co-precipitation method yields more stable CuO-ZnO-Al2O3/HZSM-5 nanocatalyst while conventional precipitated nanocatalyst lost their activity ca. 18% and 58% in terms of CO conversion and DME yield respectively in 24 h time on stream test.

  12. Optimization of Ultrasound-assisted Extraction of Phenolic Compounds from Myrcia amazonica DC. (Myrtaceae) Leaves

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Morais Rodrigues, Mariana Cristina; Borges, Leonardo Luiz; Martins, Frederico Severino; Mourão, Rosa Helena V.; da Conceição, Edemilson Cardoso

    2016-01-01

    Background: Myrcia amazonica. DC is a species predominantly found in northern Brazil, and belongs to the Myrtaceae family, which possess various species used in folk medicine to treat gastrointestinal disorders, infectious diseases, and hemorrhagic conditions and are known for their essential oil contents. Materials and Methods: This study aimed applied the Box–Behnken design combined with response surface methodology to optimize ultrasound-assisted extraction of total polyphenols, total tannins (TT), and total flavonoids (TF) from M. amazonica DC. Results: The results indicated that the best conditions to obtain highest yields of TT were in lower levels of alcohol degree (65%), time (15 min), and also solid: Liquid ratio (solid to liquid ratio; 20 mg: 5 mL). The TF could be extracted with high amounts with higher extraction times (45 min), lower values of solid: Liquid ratio (20 mg: mL), and intermediate alcohol degree level. Conclusion: The exploitation of the natural plant resources present very important impact for the economic development, and also the valorization of great Brazilian biodiversity. The knowledge obtained from this work should be useful to further exploit and apply this raw material. SUMMARY Myrcia amazonica leaves possess phenolic compounds with biological applications;Lower levels of ethanolic strength are more suitable to obtain a igher levels of phenolic compouds such as tannins;Box-Behnken design indicates to be useful to explore the best conditions of ultrasound assisted extraction. Abbreviation used: Nomenclature ES: Ethanolic strength, ET: Extraction time, SLR: Solid to liquid ratio, TFc: Total flavonoid contents, TPc: Total polyphenol contents, TTc: Total tannin contents PMID:27019555

  13. Comparison of needle aspiration and vacuum-assisted biopsy in the ultrasound-guided drainage of lactational breast abscesses

    OpenAIRE

    Kang, Yun-Dan; Kim, You Me

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare needle aspiration and vacuum-assistedbiopsy in the ultrasound-guided treatment of lactational breast abscesses. Methods: Between January 2005 and December 2014, a total of 74 patients presented withlactational breast abscesses. Thirty of these patients underwent treatment with antibioticsalone, while the remaining 44 lactating women with breast abscesses were treated withneedle aspiration (n=25) or vacuum-assisted biopsy (n=19). Age, duration ...

  14. Fe(II)–Al(III) layered double hydroxides prepared by ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation method for the reduction of bromate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong, Yu; Yang, Qi; Luo, Kun; Wu, Xiuqiong; Li, Xiaoming; Liu, Yang; Tang, Wangwang; Zeng, Guangming; Peng, Bo

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Fe(II)–Al(III) LDHs were synthesized by ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation method. ► The Fe–Al (30 min) exhibited highly reduction reactivity on bromate. ► Pseudo-first-order model described the experimental data well. ► The mechanisms of bromate removal were proposed. -- Abstract: Bromate is recognized as an oxyhalide disinfection byproduct in drinking water. In this paper, Fe(II)–Al(III) layered double hydroxides (Fe–Al LDHs) prepared by the ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation method were used for the reduction of bromate in solution. The Fe–Al LDHs particles were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry. It was found that ultrasound irradiation assistance promoted the formation of the hydrotalcite-like phase and then improved the removal efficiency of bromate. In addition, the effects of solid-to-solution ratio, contact time, initial bromate concentration, initial pH, coexisting anions on the bromate removal were investigated. The results showed the bromate with an initial concentration of 1.56 μmol/L could be completely removed from solution by Fe–Al LDHs within 120 min. When the initial bromate concentration was 7.81 μmol/L, the Fe–Al LDHs with irradiation time of 30 min exhibited the optimum removal efficiency and the bromate removal capacity (q e ) was 6.80 μmol/g. In addition, the appearance of sulfate and production of bromide were observed simultaneously in this process, which suggested that ion-exchange between sulfate and bromate, and the reduction of bromate to bromide by Fe 2+ were the main mechanisms responsible for the bromate removal by Fe–Al LDHs

  15. Power ultrasound-assisted cleaner leather dyeing technique: influence of process parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivakumar, Venkatasubramanian; Rao, Paruchuri Gangadhar

    2004-03-01

    The application of power ultrasound to leather processing has a significant role in the concept of "clean technology" for leather production. The effect of power ultrasound in leather dyeing has been compared with dyeing in the absence of ultrasound and conventional drumming. The power ultrasound source used in these experiments was ultrasonic cleaner (150 W and 33 kHz). The effect of various process parameters such as amount of dye offer, temperature, and type of dye has been experimentally found out. The effect of presonication of dye solution as well as leather has been studied. Experiments at ultrasonic bath temperature were carried out to find out the combined thermal as well as stirring effects of ultrasound. Dyeing in the presence of ultrasound affords about 37.5 (1.8 times) difference as increase in % dye exhaustion or about 50% decrease in the time required for dyeing compared to dyeing in the absence of ultrasound for 4% acid red dye. About 29 (1.55 times) increase in % dye exhaustion or 30% reduction in time required for dyeing was observed using ultrasound at stationary condition compared with conventional dynamic drumming conditions. The effect of ultrasound at constant temperature conditions with a control experiment has also been studied. The dye exhaustion increases as the temperature increases (30-60 degrees C) and better results are observed at higher temperature due to the use of ultrasound. Presonication of dye solution or crust leather prior to the dyeing process has no significant improvement in dye exhaustion, suggesting ultrasound effect is realized when it is applied during the dyeing process. The results indicate that 1697 and 1416 ppm of dye can be reduced in the spent liquor due to the use of ultrasound for acid red (for 100 min) and acid black (for 3 h) dyes, respectively, thereby reducing the pollution load in the effluent stream. The color yield of the leather as inferred from the reflectance measurement indicates that dye offer can

  16. Determination of Pb in river water samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry after ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation with manganese dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sousa Bispo, Marcia; Santos da Boa Morte, Elane; Korn das Gracas Andrade, Maria; Sena Gomes Teixeira, Leonardo; Korn, Mauro; Costa, Antonio Celso Spinola

    2005-01-01

    A simple and efficient procedure for separation and pre-concentration using ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation with manganese dioxide was developed for Pb determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The optimization process was carried out using a two-level factorial design and a Doehlert matrix. Three variables (i.e. concentration of oxidizing solution-KMnO 4 , concentration of MnSO 4 solution and time of ultrasonic irradiation) were used as factors in the optimization. The recoveries, based on the analysis of spiked samples, were between 90% and 105%, and the precision was ≤ 5%. The detection limit and quantification limit for Pb determination were 3.2 and 10.7 μg L -1 , respectively. The proposed method was applied for the determination of Pb in water samples from a river heavily polluted by industrial effluents. The recovery measured by analyte addition technique showed that the proposed pre-concentration method had good accuracy

  17. Effects of power ultrasound on oxidation and structure of beef proteins during curing processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Da-Cheng; Zou, Yun-He; Cheng, Yu-Ping; Xing, Lu-Juan; Zhou, Guang-Hong; Zhang, Wan-Gang

    2016-11-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of power ultrasound intensity (PUS, 2.39, 6.23, 11.32 and 20.96Wcm(-2)) and treatment time (30, 60, 90 and 120min) on the oxidation and structure of beef proteins during the brining procedure with 6% NaCl concentration. The investigation was conducted with an ultrasonic generator with the frequency of 20kHz and fresh beef at 48h after slaughter. Analysis of TBARS (Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) contents showed that PUS treatment significantly increased the extent of lipid oxidation compared to static brining (Pgeneration of free radicals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Usefulness of ultrasound-guided mammotome biopsy for microcalcification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, You Me [Dankook University Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Hee Boong [Park Breast Clinic, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ryu, Jin Woo [Cheonan Choongmu Hospital, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

    2005-08-15

    To evaluate the usefulness of ultrasound-guided mammotome biopsy for microcalcification and to suggest a new approach for the localization of microcalcifications which are not detected on ultrasound. Twenty-one calcific lesions in 21 women (aged 33-56 years) underwent ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted, mammotome biopsy and a mean of 14 specimens per lesion were obtained. Calcification retrieval was defined as identification of calcifications on specimen radiographs. In the 13 cases of calcifications which were not detected on ultrasound imaging, mammotome biopsy was performed after localization of one or two needles at the microcalcifications under mammography-guidance. Radiographs of the specimens and histologic findings were reviewed and scheduled follow-up imaging was performed for evaluation of the complications of biopsy. Ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted, mammotome biopsy removed all calcifications in 21 lesions. Eight (38%) lesions showed visible calcification on the ultrasound while 13 (62%) lesions were invisible, which underwent mammotome biopsy after needle localization under mammography-guidance. Surgery revealed DCIS in 1 (4.8%) of 21 lesions, infiltrating ductal carcinoma in two (9.5%), fibroadenomas with calcifications in 6 (28.6%), fibroadenmas with adenosis in 2(9.5%), and fibrocystic change with calcifications in 10 (47.6%). Clinical significant complications did not occur on follow-up examination in any of the cases. Ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted, mammotome biopsy was an effective method for microcalcifications on mammogram. The results suggested that mammotome biopsy after mammogram-guided, needle localization is a good alternative method for the diagnosis of microcalcifications which are undetectable in the ultrasound images.

  19. Usefulness of ultrasound-guided mammotome biopsy for microcalcification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, You Me; Park, Hee Boong; Ryu, Jin Woo

    2005-01-01

    To evaluate the usefulness of ultrasound-guided mammotome biopsy for microcalcification and to suggest a new approach for the localization of microcalcifications which are not detected on ultrasound. Twenty-one calcific lesions in 21 women (aged 33-56 years) underwent ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted, mammotome biopsy and a mean of 14 specimens per lesion were obtained. Calcification retrieval was defined as identification of calcifications on specimen radiographs. In the 13 cases of calcifications which were not detected on ultrasound imaging, mammotome biopsy was performed after localization of one or two needles at the microcalcifications under mammography-guidance. Radiographs of the specimens and histologic findings were reviewed and scheduled follow-up imaging was performed for evaluation of the complications of biopsy. Ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted, mammotome biopsy removed all calcifications in 21 lesions. Eight (38%) lesions showed visible calcification on the ultrasound while 13 (62%) lesions were invisible, which underwent mammotome biopsy after needle localization under mammography-guidance. Surgery revealed DCIS in 1 (4.8%) of 21 lesions, infiltrating ductal carcinoma in two (9.5%), fibroadenomas with calcifications in 6 (28.6%), fibroadenmas with adenosis in 2(9.5%), and fibrocystic change with calcifications in 10 (47.6%). Clinical significant complications did not occur on follow-up examination in any of the cases. Ultrasound-guided, vacuum-assisted, mammotome biopsy was an effective method for microcalcifications on mammogram. The results suggested that mammotome biopsy after mammogram-guided, needle localization is a good alternative method for the diagnosis of microcalcifications which are undetectable in the ultrasound images

  20. Effect of ultrasound on electrochemical chloride extraction from mortar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yiqun; Yao, Wu; Zuo, Junqing

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, the effect of auxiliary ultrasound on electrochemical chloride extraction (ECE) was studied. The chloride removal efficiency was investigated by examining the chloride content with ultrasound-assisted ECE and changing the introducing time of ultrasound. The experimental results showed that removal of chloride ions was noted to be more effective in ECE treatment assisted with ultrasound treatment (UT). In addition, the lower w/c ratio led to more distinct effect of ultrasonic cavitation on chloride removal. Electrochemical behaviors measured with different treatment revealed that UT treatment was effective on moderating the corrosion condition. Microstructural analyses revealed a significant alteration in composition and morphology of cementitious phases with UT treatment. Pull-out tests indicated that ultrasound had a certain negative impact on the bond strength. Although the effect of introducing ultrasound in the first 2 weeks or the last 2 weeks on the extraction efficiency was not obvious, intermittent ultrasound could not only ensure the chloride extraction efficiency, but also reduce the adverse effect of ultrasound on the bond strength.

  1. A novel two-step ultrasound post-assisted lye peeling regime for tomatoes: Reducing pollution while improving product yield and quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Ruiping; Ye, Fayin; Lu, Zhiqiang; Wang, Jiajia; Li Shen, Xiao; Zhao, Guohua

    2018-07-01

    In this paper, the effects and mechanisms of a novel two-step tomato peeling method, hot lye with a post-assistance of ultrasound, were investigated. The present work aims to improve the environmental friendliness of the conventional hot lye tomato peeling method (10% w/v, 97 °C, 45 s). The results showed that 4% (w/v) lye treatment at 97 °C for 30 s with a post-assistance of a 31.97 W/L ultrasound treatment at 70 °C for 50 s achieved a 100% peelability. In this scenario, the peeling yield and lycopene content in the peeled product were significantly higher than the peeling yield and lycopene content with the conventional hot lye peeling method. The present two-step peeling method was concluded with a mechanism of chemico-mechanical synergism, in which the hot lye functions mainly in a chemical way while the ultrasound is a mechanical process. Especially from the lye side, this work first demonstrated that the lye penetrated across the tomato skin via a pitting model rather than evenly. The findings reported in this paper not only provide a novel tomato peeling method with significant environmental benefits but also discover new clues to the peeling mechanism using hot lye. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of Mangiferin from Mango (Mangifera indica L.) leaves using response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Tang-Bin; Xia, En-Qin; He, Tai-Ping; Huang, Ming-Yuan; Jia, Qing; Li, Hua-Wen

    2014-01-27

    Mangiferin is a xanthone widely distributed in higher plants showing antioxidative, antiviral, anticancer, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective and analgesic effects. In the present study, an ultrasonic-assisted extraction method was developed for the effective extraction of mangiferin from mango leaves. Some parameters such as ethanol concentration, liquid-to-solid ratio, extraction temperature, and extraction time were optimized by single-factor experiment and response surface methodology. The optimal extraction conditions were 44% ethanol, the liquid-to-solid ratio was 38:1, and extraction for 19.2 min at 60 °C under ultrasound irradiation of 200 W. Under optimal conditions, the yield of mangiferin was 58.46 ± 1.27 mg/g. The results obtained are helpful for the full utilization of mango leaves, and also indicated that ultrasonic-assisted extraction is a very useful method for the extraction of mangiferin from plant materials.

  3. Ultrasound-assisted interaction between chlorin-e6 and human serum albumin: pH dependence, singlet oxygen production, and formulation effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mocanu, Mihaela N.; Yan, Fei

    2018-02-01

    The interaction between chlorin e6 (Ce6) and human serum albumin (HSA) in the presence and absence of ultrasound have been investigated by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. Ce6 is found to bind strongly to HSA at or near physiological pH conditions, but the strength of the binding is significantly weakened at lower pHs. The intrinsic fluorescence of HSA is incrementally quenched with increasing concentration of Ce6, and the quenching is enhanced after exposure to high-frequency ultrasound. Our experimental results suggest that Ce6-induced sonodynamic oxidation of HSA is mainly mediated by singlet oxygen. The formulation of Ce6 by high molecular weight polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) increased its stability in aqueous solutions and its quantum yield of singlet oxygen under ultrasound irradiation.

  4. Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Antioxidants from the Mung Bean Coat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yue; Zheng, Jie; Gan, Ren-You; Zhou, Tong; Xu, Dong-Ping; Li, Hua-Bin

    2017-04-15

    Mung bean ( Vigna radiata ) sprout is commonly consumed as a vegetable, while the coat of the germinated mung bean is a waste. In this paper, an ultrasound-assisted extraction method has been developed to extract natural antioxidants from the seed coat of mung bean. Several experimental parameters-which included ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, ultrasound extraction time, temperature, and power-were studied in single-factor experiments. The interaction of three key experimental parameters (ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, and ultrasonic extraction time) was further investigated by response surface method. Besides, traditional extracting methods, including maceration and Soxhlet extraction methods, were also carried out for comparison. The results suggested that the best extracting condition was 37.6% ( v / v ) of ethanol concentration, 35.1:1 mL/g of solvent/material ratio and ultrasonic extraction of 46.1 min at 70 °C under 500 W ultrasonic irradiation. The antioxidant capacity (178.28 ± 7.39 µmol Trolox/g DW) was much stronger than those obtained by the maceration extraction process (158.66 ± 4.73 µmol Trolox/g DW) and the Soxhlet extraction process (138.42 ± 3.63 µmol Trolox/g DW). In addition, several antioxidant components in the extract were identified and quantified. This study is helpful for value-added utilization of the waste from germinated mung bean.

  5. Prostate ultrasound: back in business!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crisan, Nicolae; Andras, Iulia; Radu, Corina; Andras, David; Coman, Radu-Tudor; Tucan, Paul; Pisla, Doina; Crisan, Dana; Coman, Ioan

    2017-11-29

    The use of grey scale prostate ultrasound decreased after the implementation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the diagnosis and evaluation of prostate cancer. The new developments, such as multiparametric ultrasound and MRI-ultrasound fusion technology, renewed the interest for this imaging method in the assessment of prostate cancer. The purpose of this paper was to review the current role of prostate ultrasound in the setting of these new applications. A thorough reevaluation of the selection criteria of the patients is required to assess which patients would benefit from multiparametric ultrasound, who wouldbenefit from multiparametric MRI or the combination of both to assist prostate biopsy in order to ensure the balance between overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis of prostate cancer.

  6. A Numerical Analysis of Phononic-Assisted Control of Ultrasound Waves in Acoustofluidic Device

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moiseyenko, Rayisa; Bruus, Henrik

    2015-01-01

    and streaming has received much attention, since it relies solely on mechanical properties such as particle size and contrast in density and compressibility. We present a theoretical study of phononic-assisted control of ultrasound waves in acoustofluidic devices. We propose the use of phononic crystal...... diffractors, which can be introduced in acoustofluidic structures. These diffractors can be applied in the design of efficient resonant cavities, directional sound waves for new types of particle sorting methods, or acoustically controlled deterministic lateral displacement. The PnC-diffractor-based devices...... can be made configurable, by embedding the diffractors, all working at the same excitation frequency but with different resulting diffraction patterns, in exchangeable membranes on top of the device....

  7. A redox-assisted molecular assembly of molybdenum oxide amine composite nanobelts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo Haiyan; Wei Mingdeng; Wei Kemei

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Nanobelts of molybdenum oxide amine were first synthesized via a redox-assisted molecular assembly route. → These nanobelts are highly crystalline with a several tens of micrometers in length and 20-30 nm in thickness. - Abstract: In this paper, the nanobelts of molybdenum oxide amine composite were successfully synthesized via a redox-assisted molecular assembly route under the hydrothermal conditions. The synthesized nanobelts were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, TG and FT-IR measurements. The thickness of nanobelts is found to be ca. 20-30 nm and their lengths are up to several tens of micrometers. Based on a series of the experimental results, a possible model, redox-intercalation-exfoliation, was suggested for the formation of nanobelts of molybdenum oxide amine composite.

  8. Ultrasound diagnostics of thyroid diseases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kharchenko, Vladimir P.; Kotlyarov, Peter M.; Mogutov, Mikhail S.; Sencha, Alexander N.; Patrunov, Yury N.; Belyaev, Denis V.; Alexandrov, Yury K.

    2010-01-01

    This book is based on the authors' extensive practical experience in the use of modern ultrasound, and other radiological methods, in the diagnosis of thyroid diseases. The authors have analyzed more than 100,000 ultrasound examinations performed between 1995 and 2008 in patients with thyroid and parathyroid disease, as well as many thousands of diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound-guided minimally invasive procedures. The opening chapters include discussion of current ultrasound techniques, pitfalls, and the specifics of ultrasound examination of the thyroid in children. Detailed attention is then devoted to findings in the normal thyroid and in the presence of diffuse and focal changes. Further chapters focus on such topics as ultrasound examination after thyroid surgery and ultrasound diagnosis of parathyroid disease, recurrent goiter, and neck masses. Ultrasound-guided minimally invasive techniques, such as fine-needle aspiration biopsy, percutaneous laser ablation, and ethanol and glucocorticoid injections, are considered in depth. This up-to-date and richly illustrated book will interest and assist specialists in ultrasound diagnostics, radiologists, endocrinologists, and neck surgeons. (orig.)

  9. Ultrasound-assisted extraction and characterization of hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes produced by solid state fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szabo, Orsolya Erzsebet; Csiszar, Emilia; Toth, Karolina; Szakacs, George; Koczka, Bela

    2015-01-01

    Ligninolytic and hydrolytic enzymes were produced with six selected fungi on flax substrate by solid state fermentation (SSF). The extracellular enzyme production of the organisms in two SSF media was evaluated by measuring the soluble protein concentration and the filter paper, endoxylanase, 1,4-β-d-glucosidase, 1,4-β-d-endoglucanase, polygalacturonase, lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase and laccase activities of the clear culture solutions produced by conventional extraction from the SSF materials. The SSF material of the best enzyme producer (Trichoderma virens TUB F-498) was further investigated to enhance the enzyme recovery by low frequency ultrasound treatment. Performance of both the original and ultrasound macerated crude enzyme mixtures was evaluated in degradation of the colored lignin-containing and waxy materials of raw linen fabric. Results proved that sonication (at 40%, 60% and 80% amplitudes, for 60min) did not result in reduction in the filter paper, lignin peroxidase and laccase activities of the crude enzyme solution, but has a significant positive effect on the efficiency of enzyme extraction from the SSF material. Depending on the parameters of sonication, the enzyme activities in the extracts obtained can be increased up to 129-413% of the original activities measured in the control extracts recovered by a common magnetic stirrer. Sonication also has an effect on both the enzymatic removal of the lignin-containing color materials and hydrophobic surface layer from the raw linen. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Ultrasound assistance in differentiating malignant thyroid nodules from benign ones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahir, S.T.; Sefidrokh, S.; Heidari, F.; Vakili, M.; Ghaneei, A.

    2017-01-01

    The search is ongoing for simple, effective ways to identify and differentiate thyroid nodules in order to avoid invasive procedures. This study aims to perform an ultrasound assessment of clinically suspected patients with malignant nodules, to perform a fine needle biopsy on them, and to compare the results obtained. Methods: In total, 135 patients with thyroid nodules suspected to be malignant in the ultrasound underwent ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsies. The patients' gender, age, ultrasound views (echogenicity, shape, and calcification type), nodule size, number of nodules, and needle biopsy results were retrospectively evaluated. Results: Of the 135 patients, 117 (86.7 percent) were female and 18 (13.3 percent) were male. In terms of age, 67 (49.16 percent) were younger than 40 and the rest were older. According to the Chi-square test, a significant relationship was found between the type of nodule and calcification found in the ultrasound views (p=0.001). The nodule type was not significantly related to gender (p=0.563) or to the number of nodules (p=0.128); however, there was a significant relationship between nodule size and type (p=0.001). Ultrasound specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy for differentiating benign from malignant nodules were 93.2 percent, 93.8 percent, 81.1 percent, 98 percent, and 93.3 percent, respectively. Conclusions: Ultrasound views (comet tail artefact and linear echogenic foci) were better predictors of benign nodules than of malignant ones, while round, echogenic foci, brighter and larger than typical micro-calcifications without any visible echoes and multiple punctuate round echogenic foci were better predicted malignancy. (author)

  11. Effects of Ultrasound Assisted Extraction in Conjugation with Aid of Actinidin on the Molecular and Physicochemical Properties of Bovine Hide Gelatin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanbir Ahmad

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Actinidin was used to pretreat the bovine hide and ultrasonic wave (53 kHz and 500 W was used for the time durations of 2, 4 and 6 h at 60 °C to extract gelatin samples (UA2, UA4 and UA6, respectively. Control (UAC gelatin was extracted using ultrasound for 6 h at 60 °C without enzyme pretreatment. There was significant (p < 0.05 increase in gelatin yield as the time duration of ultrasound treatment increased with UA6 giving the highest yield of 19.65%. Gel strength and viscosity of UAC and UA6 extracted gelatin samples were 627.53 and 502.16 g and 16.33 and 15.60 mPa.s, respectively. Longer duration of ultrasound treatment increased amino acids content of the extracted gelatin and UAC exhibited the highest content of amino acids. Progressive degradation of polypeptide chains was observed in the protein pattern of the extracted gelatin as the time duration of ultrasound extraction increased. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR spectroscopy depicted loss of molecular order and degradation in UA6. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM revealed protein aggregation and network formation in the gelatin samples with increasing time of ultrasound treatment. The study indicated that ultrasound assisted gelatin extraction using actinidin exhibited high yield with good quality gelatin.

  12. Oxidative degradation of phenols in sono-Fenton-like systems upon high-frequency ultrasound irradiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aseev, D. G.; Sizykh, M. R.; Batoeva, A. A.

    2017-12-01

    The kinetics of oxidative degradation of phenol and chlorophenols upon acoustic cavitation in the megahertz range (1.7 MHz) is studied experimentally in model systems, and the involvement of in situ generated reactive oxygen species (ROSs) is demonstrated. The phenols subjected to high frequency ultrasound (HFUS) are ranked in terms of their rate of conversion: 2,4,6-trichlorophenol > 2,4-dichlorophenol 2-chlorophenol > 4-chlorophenol phenol. Oxidative degradation upon HFUS irradiation is most efficient at low concentrations of pollutants, due to the low steady-state concentrations of the in situ generated ROSs. A dramatic increase is observed in the efficiency of oxidation in several sonochemical oxidative systems (HFUS in combination with other chemical oxidative factors). The system with added Fe2+ (a sono-Fenton system) derives its efficiency from hydrogen peroxide generated in situ as a result of the recombination of OH radicals. The S2O8 2-/Fe2+/HFUS system has a synergetic effect on substrate oxidation that is attributed to a radical chain mechanism. In terms of the oxidation rates, degrees of conversion, and specific energy efficiencies of 4-chlorophenol oxidation based on the amount of oxidized substance per unit of expended energy the considered sonochemical oxidative systems form the series HFUS < S2O8 2-/HFUS < S2O8 2-/Fe2+/HFUS.

  13. Microalgae as feedstock for biodiesel production under ultrasound treatment - A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivaramakrishnan, Ramachandran; Incharoensakdi, Aran

    2018-02-01

    The application of ultrasound in biodiesel production has recently emerged as a novel technology. Ultrasound treatment enhances the mass transfer characteristics leading to the increased reaction rate with short reaction time and potentially reduces the production cost. In this review, application of ultrasound-assisted biodiesel production using acid, base and enzyme catalysts is presented. A critical assessment of the current status of ultrasound in biodiesel production was discussed with the emphasis on using ultrasound for efficient microalgae biodiesel production. The ultrasound in the biodiesel production enhances the emulsification of immiscible liquid reactant by microturbulence generated by cavitation bubbles. The major benefit of the ultrasound-assisted biodiesel production is a reduction in reaction time. Several different methods have been discussed to improve the biodiesel production. Overall, this review focuses on the current understanding of the application of ultrasound in biodiesel production from microalgae and to provide insights into future developments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Green ultrasound-assisted extraction of carotenoids based on the bio-refinery concept using sunflower oil as an alternative solvent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ying; Fabiano-Tixier, Anne Sylvie; Tomao, Valérie; Cravotto, Giancarlo; Chemat, Farid

    2013-01-01

    A green, inexpensive and easy-to-use method for carotenoids extraction from fresh carrots assisted by ultrasound was designed in this work. Sunflower oil was applied as a substitute to organic solvents in this green ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE): a process which is in line with green extraction and bio-refinery concepts. The processing procedure of this original UAE was first compared with conventional solvent extraction (CSE) using hexane as solvent. Moreover, the UAE optimal conditions for the subsequent comparison were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and ultra performance liquid chromatography--diode array detector--mass spectroscopy (UPLC-DAD-MS). The results showed that the UAE using sunflower as solvent has obtained its highest β-carotene yield (334.75 mg/l) in 20 min only, while CSE using hexane as solvent obtained a similar yield (321.35 mg/l) in 60 min. The green UAE performed under optimal extraction conditions (carrot to oil ratio of 2:10, ultrasonic intensity of 22.5 W cm(-2), temperature of 40 °C and sonication time of 20 min) gave the best yield of β-carotene. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of crude oil from winter melon (Benincasa hispida) seed using response surface methodology and evaluation of its antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and fatty acid composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bimakr, Mandana; Rahman, Russly Abdul; Taip, Farah Saleena; Adzahan, Noranizan Mohd; Sarker, Md Zaidul Islam; Ganjloo, Ali

    2012-10-08

    In the present study, ultrasound-assisted extraction of crude oil from winter melon seeds was investigated through response surface methodology (RSM). Process variables were power level (25-75%), temperature (45-55 °C) and sonication time (20-40 min). It was found that all process variables have significant (p yield (108.62 mg-extract/g-dried matter). The antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and fatty acid composition of extract obtained under optimized conditions were determined and compared with those of oil obtained by the Soxhlet method. It was found that crude extract yield (CEY) of ultrasound-assisted extraction was lower than that of the Soxhlet method, whereas antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the extract obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction were clearly higher than those of the Soxhlet extract. Furthermore, both extracts were rich in unsaturated fatty acids. The major fatty acids of the both extracts were linoleic acid and oleic acid.

  16. Syntheses of rare-earth metal oxide nanotubes by the sol-gel method assisted with porous anodic aluminum oxide templates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuang Qin; Lin Zhiwei; Lian Wei; Jiang Zhiyuan; Xie Zhaoxiong; Huang Rongbin; Zheng Lansun

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, we report a versatile synthetic method of ordered rare-earth metal (RE) oxide nanotubes. RE (RE=Y, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb) oxide nanotubes were successfully prepared from corresponding RE nitrate solution via the sol-gel method assisted with porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been employed to characterize the morphology and composition of the as-prepared nanotubes. It is found that as-prepared RE oxides evolve into bamboo-like nanotubes and entirely hollow nanotubes. A new possible formation mechanism of RE oxide nanotubes in the AAO channels is proposed. These high-quantity RE oxide nanotubes are expected to have promising applications in many areas such as luminescent materials, catalysts, magnets, etc. - Graphical abstract: A versatile synthetic method for the preparation of ordered rare-earth (RE) oxide nanotubes is reported, by which RE (RE=Y, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb) oxide nanotubes were successfully prepared from corresponding RE nitrate solution via the sol-gel method assisted with porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates

  17. Kinetics of Ultrasound-Assisted Flavonoid Extraction from Agri-Food Solid Wastes Using Water/Glycerol Mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitris P. Makris

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Red grape pomace (RGP and onion solid wastes (OSW were used as raw material to produce flavonoid-enriched extracts, using ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction. The extraction medium used was composed of water and glycerol and under the conditions used the extraction of flavonoids from both materials was shown to obey first-order kinetics. Maximum diffusivities (De values were 4.01 × 10−11 and 2.35 × 10−11 m2·s−1, for RGP and OSW extraction, respectively, while the corresponding activation energies (Ea were 14.00 and 15.23 kJ·mol−1.

  18. Value of Duplex Ultrasound Assistance for Thromboaspiration and Dilation of Thrombosed Native Arterio-Venous Fistulae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    García-Medina, J.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the value of duplex ultrasound assistance during thromboaspiration of thrombosed arteriovenous fistulae for haemodialysis. Materials and Methods: We prospectively studied 54 thrombosed native fistulae (23 with total thrombosis and 31 with partial thrombosis), in which we performed manual thromboaspiration guided by ultrasonography associated with fluoroscopy. Results: The fistulae were located in the forearm (n = 39) or in the upper arm (n = 15) of 46 patients. Mean patient age was 65 years, and hypertension was the most common risk factor (74 %). Mean access age was 928 days (range 69–2,290), and most fistulae were on the left side (41 cases, 75.92 %). The success rate was 83 % in the total thrombosis group and 100 % in the partial thrombosis group. Including initial failures, the respective primary patency rates in the total thrombosis group and the partial thrombosis group were, respectively, 83 ± 8 % (n = 20) and 87 ± 6 % (n = 28) at 1 month, 39 ± 10 % (n = 10) and 61 ± 8 % (n = 20) at 6 months, and 17 ± 8 % (n = 5) and 26 ± 8 % (n = 9) at 1 year. The mean decrease of fluoroscopy time with ultrasound was 3 min (range 1–5). The mean decrease of radiation dose was 2.6 Gy cm² (range 0.9–4.3]. Conclusion: Ultrasound is a feasible and useful tool in the management of thrombosed native fistulae, thus decreasing radiation exposure, and has no detrimental effect on success rates

  19. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction and Identification of Natural Antioxidants from the Fruit of Melastoma sanguineum Sims.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Tong; Xu, Dong-Ping; Lin, Sheng-Jun; Li, Ya; Zheng, Jie; Zhou, Yue; Zhang, Jiao-Jiao; Li, Hua-Bin

    2017-02-18

    The fruit of Melastoma sanguineum Sims is an edible and sweet wild fruit. In our previous study, the fruit was found to have a strong antioxidant property. In this study, an ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method was developed to extract natural antioxidants from the fruit of Melastoma sanguineum Sims, and a response surface methodology was used to optimize the conditions of UAE to maximize the extraction efficiency. The influence of five independent extraction parameters (ethanol concentration, solvent/material ratio, extracting time, temperature, and ultrasound power) on the extraction efficiency were investigated using a single factor experiment, and then a central composite rotatable design was used to investigate the interaction of three key parameters. The results showed that the optimal extraction conditions were 42.98% ethanol, 28.29 mL/g solvent/material ratio, 34.29 min extracting time, 60 °C temperature, and 600 W ultrasound power. Under these conditions, the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) value of the extracts was 1074.61 ± 32.56 μmol Trolox/g dry weight (DW). Compared with conventional maceration (723.27 ± 11.61 μmol Trolox/g DW) and Soxhlet extraction methods (518.37 ± 23.23 μmol Trolox/g DW), the UAE method improved the extraction efficiency, in a shorter period of time. In addition, epicatechin gallate, epicatechin, rutin, epigallocatechin, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, and quercetin, were identified and quantified in the fruit extracts of Melastoma sanguineum Sims by UPLC-MS/MS.

  20. Ultrasound assisted intensification of enzyme activity and its properties: a mini-review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadar, Shamraja S; Rathod, Virendra K

    2017-08-22

    Over the last decade, ultrasound technique has emerged as the potential technology which shows large applications in food and biotechnology processes. Earlier, ultrasound has been employed as a method of enzyme inactivation but recently, it has been found that ultrasound does not inactivate all enzymes, particularly, under mild conditions. It has been shown that the use of ultrasonic treatment at appropriate frequencies and intensity levels can lead to enhanced enzyme activity due to favourable conformational changes in protein molecules without altering its structural integrity. The present review article gives an overview of influence of ultrasound irradiation parameters (intensity, duty cycle and frequency) and enzyme related factors (enzyme concentration, temperature and pH) on the catalytic activity of enzyme during ultrasound treatment. Also, it includes the effect of ultrasound on thermal kinetic parameters and Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters (k m and V max ) of enzymes. Further, in this review, the physical and chemical effects of ultrasound on enzyme have been correlated with thermodynamic parameters (enthalpy and entropy). Various techniques used for investigating the conformation changes in enzyme after sonication have been highlighted. At the end, different techniques of immobilization for ultrasound treated enzyme have been summarized.

  1. Intensification of extraction of curcumin from Curcuma amada using ultrasound assisted approach: Effect of different operating parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirsath, S R; Sable, S S; Gaikwad, S G; Sonawane, S H; Saini, D R; Gogate, P R

    2017-09-01

    Curcumin, a dietary phytochemical, has been extracted from rhizomes of Curcuma amada using ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and the results compared with the conventional extraction approach to establish the process intensification benefits. The effect of operating parameters such as type of solvent, extraction time, extraction temperature, solid to solvent ratio, particle size and ultrasonic power on the extraction yield have been investigated in details for the approach UAE. The maximum extraction yield as 72% was obtained in 1h under optimized conditions of 35°C temperature, solid to solvent ratio of 1:25, particle size of 0.09mm, ultrasonic power of 250W and ultrasound frequency of 22kHz with ethanol as the solvent. The obtained yield was significantly higher as compared to the batch extraction where only about 62% yield was achieved in 8h of treatment. Peleg's model was used to describe the kinetics of UAE and the model showed a good agreement with the experimental results. Overall, ultrasound has been established to be a green process for extraction of curcumin with benefits of reduction in time as compared to batch extraction and the operating temperature as compared to Soxhlet extraction. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Effect of resonance frequency, power input, and saturation gas type on the oxidation efficiency of an ultrasound horn

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rooze, J.; Rebrov, E.V.; Schouten, J.C.; Keurentjes, J.T.F.

    2011-01-01

    The sonochemical oxidation efficiency (¿ox) of a commercial titanium alloy ultrasound horn has been measured using potassium iodide as a dosimeter at its main resonance frequency (20 kHz) and two higher resonance frequencies (41 and 62 kHz). Narrow power and frequency ranges have been chosen to

  3. Metal oxide targets produced by the polymer-assisted deposition method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia, Mitch A., E-mail: mitch@berkeley.ed [Department of Chemistry, Room 446 Latimer Hall, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1460 (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Ali, Mazhar N.; Chang, Noel N.; Parsons-Moss, T. [Department of Chemistry, Room 446 Latimer Hall, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1460 (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Ashby, Paul D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Gates, Jacklyn M. [Department of Chemistry, Room 446 Latimer Hall, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1460 (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Stavsetra, Liv [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Gregorich, Kenneth E.; Nitsche, Heino [Department of Chemistry, Room 446 Latimer Hall, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1460 (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

    2010-02-11

    The polymer-assisted deposition (PAD) method was used to create crack-free homogenous metal oxide films for use as targets in nuclear science applications. Metal oxide films of europium, thulium, and hafnium were prepared as models for actinide oxides. Films produced by a single application of PAD were homogenous and uniform and ranged in thickness from 30 to 320 nm. Reapplication of the PAD method (six times) with a 10% by weight hafnium(IV) solution resulted in an equally homogeneous and uniform film with a total thickness of 600 nm.

  4. Metal oxide targets produced by the polymer-assisted deposition method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, Mitch A.; Ali, Mazhar N.; Chang, Noel N.; Parsons-Moss, T.; Ashby, Paul D.; Gates, Jacklyn M.; Stavsetra, Liv; Gregorich, Kenneth E.; Nitsche, Heino

    2010-01-01

    The polymer-assisted deposition (PAD) method was used to create crack-free homogenous metal oxide films for use as targets in nuclear science applications. Metal oxide films of europium, thulium, and hafnium were prepared as models for actinide oxides. Films produced by a single application of PAD were homogenous and uniform and ranged in thickness from 30 to 320 nm. Reapplication of the PAD method (six times) with a 10% by weight hafnium(IV) solution resulted in an equally homogeneous and uniform film with a total thickness of 600 nm.

  5. Ultrasound assisted great saphenous vein ligation and division: an office procedure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefano Ricci

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this proof of concept study is to describe an ultrasound (US assisted simplified surgical procedure for pre-terminal great saphenous vein (GSV high ligation/division avoiding groin dissection and tributary interruption, in an office setting, in association to varices phlebectomy and saphenous vein foam occlusion treatment. Inclusion criteria: primary GSV reflux due to terminal valve, vein diameter >6 mm. By ultrasonography in standing position, the point GSV passing over the adductor longus muscle (about 3 cm from the junction is identified. This E (easy point, relatively superficial, free from tributaries and other structures, allows an easy grasping and extraction of the GSV vein through a 3 mm stab incision provided an ultrasonography assistance. The vein is divided/ligated about 2 cm distal from the ostium, the distal stump is cannulated and foam is injected on the distal segment from the E-point incision in a retrograde fashion, varices are avulsed by phlebectomy. Twenty procedures in 18 patients (venous clinical severity score: mean 3.15 - GSV diameter: mean 7.34 were performed, all the cases without inconveniences, with a duration not exceeding 10 min in addition to the phlebectomy procedure time. No complications as hemorrhage, infection, nerve lesion, lymphatic leak or thrombosis have been registered. At one month the residual saphenous stump length was in average 2.16 cm with complete closure of GSV in all. Three patients have been controlled at 6 months showing GSV complete closure. The procedure described is a simple office US assisted method for GSV ligationdivision, leaving the 2 last cm of the saphenofemoral junction. It could be associated to most of the procedures in use with limited additional time and resources required.

  6. Comparison of needle aspiration and vacuum-assisted biopsy in the ultrasound-guided drainage of lactational breast abscesses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Yun Dan; Kim, You Me

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare needle aspiration and vacuum-assisted biopsy in the ultrasound-guided treatment of lactational breast abscesses. Between January 2005 and December 2014, a total of 74 patients presented with lactational breast abscesses. Thirty of these patients underwent treatment with antibioticsalone, while the remaining 44 lactating women with breast abscesses were treated with needle aspiration (n=25) or vacuum-assisted biopsy (n=19). Age, duration of lactation, abscess diameter, pus culture results, the number of interventions, the healing time, and the cure rate were reviewed and compared between these two groups. The Student's t test and the chi-square test were used to compare the variables. No significant difference was found in the cure rate between the needle aspiration group (22/25, 88%) and the vacuum-assisted biopsy group (18/19, 94.7%) (P=0.441). However, the mean healing time was significantly shorter in the vacuum-assisted biopsy group (6.7 days) than in the needle aspiration group (9.0 days) (P=0.001). Vacuum-assisted biopsy is a viable option for the management of lactational breast abscesses and was found to lead to a shorter healing time than needle aspiration. However, further study is necessary to establish the clinical efficacy of vacuum-assisted biopsy in the management of lactational breast abscesses

  7. Comparison of needle aspiration and vacuum-assisted biopsy in the ultrasound-guided drainage of lactational breast abscesses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Yun Dan; Kim, You Me [Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-03-15

    The purpose of this study was to compare needle aspiration and vacuum-assisted biopsy in the ultrasound-guided treatment of lactational breast abscesses. Between January 2005 and December 2014, a total of 74 patients presented with lactational breast abscesses. Thirty of these patients underwent treatment with antibioticsalone, while the remaining 44 lactating women with breast abscesses were treated with needle aspiration (n=25) or vacuum-assisted biopsy (n=19). Age, duration of lactation, abscess diameter, pus culture results, the number of interventions, the healing time, and the cure rate were reviewed and compared between these two groups. The Student's t test and the chi-square test were used to compare the variables. No significant difference was found in the cure rate between the needle aspiration group (22/25, 88%) and the vacuum-assisted biopsy group (18/19, 94.7%) (P=0.441). However, the mean healing time was significantly shorter in the vacuum-assisted biopsy group (6.7 days) than in the needle aspiration group (9.0 days) (P=0.001). Vacuum-assisted biopsy is a viable option for the management of lactational breast abscesses and was found to lead to a shorter healing time than needle aspiration. However, further study is necessary to establish the clinical efficacy of vacuum-assisted biopsy in the management of lactational breast abscesses.

  8. Simultaneous ultrasound-assisted water extraction and β-cyclodextrin encapsulation of polyphenols from Mangifera indica stem bark in counteracting TNFα-induced endothelial dysfunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mura, Marzia; Palmieri, Daniela; Garella, Davide; Di Stilo, Antonella; Perego, Patrizia; Cravotto, Giancarlo; Palombo, Domenico

    2015-01-01

    This study proposes an alternative technique to prevent heat degradation induced by classic procedures of bioactive compound extraction, comparing classical maceration/decoction in hot water of polyphenols from Mango (Mangifera indica L.) (MI) with ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) in a water solution of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) at room temperature and testing their biological activity on TNFα-induced endothelial dysfunction. Both extracts counteracted TNFα effects on EAhy926 cells, down-modulating interleukin-6, interleukin-8, cyclooxygenase-2 and intracellular adhesion molecule-1, while increasing endothelial nitric oxide synthase levels. β-CD extract showed higher efficacy in improving endothelial function. These effects were abolished after pre-treatment with the oestrogen receptor inhibitor ICI1182,780. Moreover, the β-CD extract induced Akt activation and completely abolished the TNFα-induced p38MAPK phosphorylation. UAE and β-CD encapsulation provide an efficient extraction protocol that increases polyphenol bioavailability. Polyphenols from MI play a protective role on endothelial cells and may be further considered as oestrogen-like molecules with vascular protective properties.

  9. Comparisons between conventional, ultrasound-assisted and microwave-assisted methods for extraction of anthraquinones from Heterophyllaea pustulata Hook f. (Rubiaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrera Vázquez, M F; Comini, L R; Martini, R E; Núñez Montoya, S C; Bottini, S; Cabrera, J L

    2014-03-01

    This work reports a comparative study about extraction methods used to obtain anthraquinones (AQs) from stems and leaves of Heterophyllae pustulata Hook (Rubiáceae). One of the conventional procedures used to extract these metabolites from a vegetable matrix is by successive Soxhlet extractions with solvents of increasing polarity: starting with hexane to eliminate chlorophylls and fatty components, following by benzene and finally ethyl acetate. However, this technique shows a low extraction yield of total AQs, and consumes large quantities of solvent and time. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) have been investigated as alternative methods to extract these compounds, using the same sequence of solvents. It was found that UAE increases the extraction yield of total AQs and reduces the time and amount of solvent used. Nevertheless, the combination UAE with benzene, plus MAE with ethyl acetate at a constant power of 900 W showed the best results. A higher yield of total AQs was obtained in less time and using the same amount of solvent that UAE. The optimal conditions for this latter procedure were UAE with benzene at 50 °C during 60 min, followed by MAE at 900 W during 15 min using ethyl acetate as extraction solvent. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Photo-assisted local oxidation of GaN using an atomic force microscope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, J S; Hu, Z S; Lu, T Y; Chen, L W; Chen, S W; Lin, T Y; Hsiao, C-L; Chen, K-H; Chen, L-C

    2006-01-01

    This paper introduces a photo-assisted atomic force microscope (AFM) local oxidation technique which is capable of producing highly smooth oxide patterns with heights reaching several tens of nanometres on both n- and p-types of GaN (and in principle on most semiconductors) without the use of chemicals. The novel methodology relies on UV illumination of the surface of the substrate during conventional AFM local oxidation. A low 1.2 V threshold voltage for n-type GaN was obtained, which can be explained by UV photo-generation of excess electron-hole pairs in the substrate near the junction, thereby reducing the electric field required to drive carrier flow through the tip-sample Schottky barrier. It was demonstrated that the presence or absence of light alone was sufficient to switch the growth of the oxide on or off. The photo-assisted AFM oxidation technique is of immediate interest to the semiconductor industry for the fabrication of GaN-based complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor devices and nanodevices, improves chances for AFM-type data storage, and presents new degrees of freedom for process control technique

  11. Copper oxide loaded PLGA nanospheres: towards a multifunctional nanoscale platform for ultrasound-based imaging and therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perlman, Or; Weitz, Iris S.; Sivan, Sarit S.; Abu-Khalla, Hiba; Benguigui, Madeleine; Shaked, Yuval; Azhari, Haim

    2018-05-01

    Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) are increasingly becoming the subject of investigation exploring their potential use for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Recent work has demonstrated their anticancer potential, as well as contrast agent capabilities for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and through-transmission ultrasound. However, no capability of CuO-NPs has been demonstrated using conventional ultrasound systems, which, unlike the former, are widely deployed in the clinic. Furthermore, in spite of their potential as multifunctional nano-based materials for diagnosis and therapy, CuO-NPs have been delayed from further clinical application due to their inherent toxicity. Herein, we present the synthesis of a novel nanoscale system, composed of CuO-loaded PLGA nanospheres (CuO-PLGA-NS), and demonstrate its imaging detectability and augmented heating effect by therapeutic ultrasound. The CuO-PLGA-NS were prepared by a double emulsion (W/O/W) method with subsequent solvent evaporation. They were characterized as sphere-shaped, with size approximately 200 nm. Preliminary results showed that the viability of PANC-1, human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells was not affected after 72 h exposure to CuO-PLGA-NS, implying that PLGA masks the toxic effects of CuO-NPs. A systematic ultrasound imaging evaluation of CuO-PLGA-NS, using a conventional system, was performed in vitro and ex vivo using poultry heart and liver, and also in vivo using mice, all yielding a significant contrast enhancement. In contrast to CuO-PLGA-NS, neither bare CuO-NPs nor blank PLGA-NS possess these unique advantageous ultrasonic properties. Furthermore, CuO-PLGA-NS accelerated ultrasound-induced temperature elevation by more than 4 °C within 2 min. The heating efficiency (cumulative equivalent minutes at 43 °C) was increased approximately six-fold, demonstrating the potential for improved ultrasound ablation. In conclusion, CuO-PLGA-NS constitute a versatile platform, potentially useful for

  12. Surface modification of chitin using ultrasound-assisted and supercritical CO{sub 2} technologies for cobalt adsorption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dotto, Guilherme L., E-mail: guilherme_dotto@yahoo.com.br; Cunha, Jeanine M., E-mail: jeaninecunha@gmail.com; Calgaro, Camila O., E-mail: camila.itepjr@gmail.com; Tanabe, Eduardo H., E-mail: edutanabe@yahoo.com.br; Bertuol, Daniel A., E-mail: dbertuol@gmail.com

    2015-09-15

    Highlights: • Chitin was modified by ultrasound-assisted (UA) and supercritical (SCO{sub 2}) technologies. • Chitin, UA-chitin and SCO{sub 2}-chitin were used as adsorbents for Co(II). • UA and SCO{sub 2} treatments provided increase of 20 and 3 times in chitin surface area. • The Co(II) adsorption capacity increased until 67.8%, using UA-chitin. - Abstract: Ultrasound-assisted (UA) and supercritical CO{sub 2} technologies (SCO{sub 2}) were used to modify the chitin surface and, improve its adsorption characteristics regarding to cobalt. Chitin, before and after the treatments, was characterized by N{sub 2} adsorption isotherms (BET), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Unmodified and surface modified chitins were used as adsorbents to remove cobalt from aqueous solutions. The adsorption study was performed by equilibrium isotherms and kinetic curves. The chitin particle characteristics, such as, surface area, pore volume and porosity were improved by the UA and SCO{sub 2} treatments. The crystallinity index decreased after the UA and SCO{sub 2} treatments, and also, intense surface modifications were observed. Langmuir and Freundlich models were adequate to represent the adsorption equilibrium. The maximum adsorption capacities were 50.03, 83.94 and 63.08 mg g{sup −1} for unmodified chitin, UA surface modified chitin and SCO{sub 2} surface modified chitin. The adsorption kinetic curves were well represented by the pseudo-second order model. UA and SCO{sub 2} technologies are alternatives to modify the chitin surface and improve its adsorption characteristics.

  13. Direct ultrasound-assisted extraction and characterization of phenolic compounds from fresh houseleek (Sempervivum marmoreum L. leaves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karabegović Ivana T.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The effects of ultrasound power and frequency on the yield of total extractive substances (TES, total phenolic content (TPC, total flavonoid content (TFC and antioxidant activity (AOA of fresh houseleek leaves extracts obtained by direct ultrasound-assisted extraction (DUAE were studied. Preliminary extraction of plant material was performed using methanol, acetone and 2-propanol by Soxhlet extraction. It was found that maximum TES yield could be obtained by methanol extraction (2.91±0.02, followed by acetone and 2-propanol with a TES yield of 2.32±0.01 and 2.01±0.03 g per 100 g of fresh plant material, respectively. In the fresh houseleek leaves extracts obtained by DUAE and methanol as the chosen solvent, TPC, TFC and AOA were in the ranges of: 40.5–85.9 mg gallic acid/g dry extract, 12.7–19.3 mg rutin/g dry extract and 24.6–108.2μg/ml, respectively. The results showed that the increase in the ultrasound power and extraction time have positive and significant (p < 0.05 effects on the TPC, TFC and AOA, while the increase in the ultrasound frequency leads to a decrease in the TPC, TFC and AOA of the extracts. A chromatographic analysis of crude extract identified the following: kaempferol 3-O-(6’’-O-malonylglucoside- 7-O-glucosyde, kaempferol 3-O-glucoside-7-O-rhamnoside, luteolin 5-O-(6’’-O-malonylglucoside, kaempferol 3-O-(6’’-O-acetylglucoside-7-O-rhamnoside, genkwanin 5-O-glucoside, luteolin 5-O-(6’’-O-malonylglucoside, kaempferol 3-O-(6’’-O-malonylglucoside, kaempferol 3-O-rhamnoside, quercetin, genkwanin 4’-O-glucoside and hyperoside. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 172047

  14. Simultaneous determination of 12 pharmaceuticals in water samples by ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, Jin; Zhang, Chi; Wang, Yang; Guo, Yiguang; Huang, Peiting; Zhao, Longshan

    2016-11-01

    A new analytical method was developed for simultaneous determination of 12 pharmaceuticals using ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) followed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Six nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, ketoprofen, mefenamic acid, tolfenamic acid, naproxen, sulindac, and piroxicam) and six antibiotics (tinidazole, cefuroxime axetil, ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, sulfadiazine, and chloramphenicol) were extracted by ultrasound-assisted DLLME using dichloromethane (800 μL) and methanol/acetonitrile (1:1, v/v, 1200 μL) as the extraction and dispersive solvents, respectively. The factors affecting the extraction efficiency, such as the type and volume of extraction and dispersive solvent, vortex and ultrasonic time, sample pH, and ionic strength, were optimized. The ultrasound-assisted process was applied to accelerate the formation of the fine cloudy solution by using a small volume of dispersive solvent, which increased the extraction efficiency and reduced the equilibrium time. Under the optimal conditions, the calibration curves showed good linearity in the range of 0.04-20 ng mL -1 (ciprofloxacin and sulfadiazine), 0.2-100 ng mL -1 (ketoprofen, tinidazole, cefuroxime axetil, naproxen, sulfamethoxazole, and sulindac), and 1-200 ng mL -1 (mefenamic acid, tolfenamic acid, piroxicam, and chloramphenicol). The LODs and LOQs of the method were in the range of 0.006-0.091 and 0.018-0.281 ng mL -1 , respectively. The relative recoveries of the target analytes were in the range from 76.77 to 99.97 % with RSDs between 1.6 and 8.8 %. The developed method was successfully applied to the extraction and analysis of 12 pharmaceuticals in five kinds of water samples (drinking water, running water, river water, influent and effluent wastewater) with satisfactory results. Graphical Abstract Twelve pharmaceuticals in water samples analyted by UHPLC

  15. Application of power ultrasound in radiochemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moisy, Ph.; Venault, L.; Blanc, P.; Madic, C.; Nikitenko, S.

    1998-01-01

    The chemical effects of ultrasound are related to cavitation process: nucleation, bubble growth and cavitation collapse. Sono-chemical reactions occur due to the rapid heating of the contents of cavitation bubbles. The shock-waves generated by cavitation collapse cause intense emulsification of the immiscible liquids. The CEA/Marcoule research group investigated the effect of power ultrasound on the homogeneous and heterogeneous (liquid-liquid) actinide reactions, in aqueous nitric acid media. It was found that U(IV), Np(V) and Pu(III) can be rapidly oxidized in HNO 3 solutions by HNO 2 , generated by the effect of power ultrasound on HNO 3 solutions. HNO 2 , formed during HNO 3 sono-lysis, decomposes hydrazinium nitrate within the cavitation bubbles. This makes it possible to the control actinide oxidation states without adding any side chemical reagents (NaNO 2 , for example). The quantitative data on the effect in the ultrasonic field in nitric acid medium are discussed, and sono-chemical mechanisms are proposed for nitrous acid formation and hydrazinium nitrate decomposition. In the presence of anti-nitrous reagents, such as hydrazinium nitrate and sulfamic acid, U(IV) was found to be oxidized and Pu(IV) reduced by H 2 O 2 formed as the result of aqueous nitric acid sono-lysis. The kinetics of H 2 O 2 formation is faster than in water, for the same sono-chemical conditions. Np(V) is rapidly oxidized, by aqueous phase HNO 2 , under the effect of ultrasound on the two-phase system TBP-dodecane/HNO 3 . Intense emulsification of the liquid/liquid system accelerates the mass transfer, of Np(VI) formed, into the organic phase. The quantitative effect of power ultrasound in aqueous nitric acid, with or without anti-nitrous reagents, can be used to predict the behavior of actinides in the ultrasonic field in nitric acid medium. (author)

  16. Surfactant-assisted ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of nickel oxide and lithium-doped nickel oxide thin films, toward electrochromic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Denayer, Jessica [Group of Research in Energy and Environment for MATerials (GREENMAT), University of Liège, allée de la chimie 3, 4000 Liège (Belgium); Bister, Geoffroy [Environmental and Material Research Association (CRIBC-INISMa), avenue gouverneur cornez 4, 7000 Mons (Belgium); Simonis, Priscilla [Laboratory LPS, University of Namur, rue de bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur (Belgium); Colson, Pierre; Maho, Anthony [Group of Research in Energy and Environment for MATerials (GREENMAT), University of Liège, allée de la chimie 3, 4000 Liège (Belgium); Aubry, Philippe [Environmental and Material Research Association (CRIBC-INISMa), avenue gouverneur cornez 4, 7000 Mons (Belgium); Vertruyen, Bénédicte [Group of Research in Energy and Environment for MATerials (GREENMAT), University of Liège, allée de la chimie 3, 4000 Liège (Belgium); Henrist, Catherine, E-mail: catherine.henrist@ulg.ac.be [Group of Research in Energy and Environment for MATerials (GREENMAT), University of Liège, allée de la chimie 3, 4000 Liège (Belgium); Lardot, Véronique; Cambier, Francis [Environmental and Material Research Association (CRIBC-INISMa), avenue gouverneur cornez 4, 7000 Mons (Belgium); Cloots, Rudi [Group of Research in Energy and Environment for MATerials (GREENMAT), University of Liège, allée de la chimie 3, 4000 Liège (Belgium)

    2014-12-01

    Highlights: • Surfactant-assisted USP: a novel and low cost process to obtain high quality nickel oxide films, with or without lithium dopant. • Increased uniformity and reduced light scattering thanks to the addition of a surfactant. • Improved electrochromic performance (coloration efficiency and contrast) for lithium-doped films by comparison with the undoped NiO film. - Abstract: Lithium-doped nickel oxide and undoped nickel oxide thin films have been deposited on FTO/glass substrates by a surfactant-assisted ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The addition of polyethylene glycol in the sprayed solution has led to improved uniformity and reduced light scattering compared to films made without surfactant. Furthermore, the presence of lithium ions in NiO films has resulted in improved electrochromic performances (coloration contrast and efficiency), but with a slight decrease of the electrochromic switching kinetics.

  17. Ultrasound assisted enhancement in natural dye extraction from beetroot for industrial applications and natural dyeing of leather.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivakumar, Venkatasubramanian; Anna, J Lakshmi; Vijayeeswarri, J; Swaminathan, G

    2009-08-01

    There is a growing demand for eco-friendly/non-toxic colorants, specifically for health sensitive applications such as coloration of food and dyeing of child textile/leather garments. Recently, dyes derived from natural sources for these applications have emerged as an important alternative to potentially harmful synthetic dyes and pose need for suitable effective extraction methodologies. The present paper focus on the influence of process parameters for ultrasound assisted leaching of coloring matter from plant materials. In the present work, extraction of natural dye from beetroot using ultrasound has been studied and compared with static/magnetic stirring as a control process at 45 degrees C. The influence of process parameters on the extraction efficiency such as ultrasonic output power, time, pulse mode, effect of solvent system and amount of beetroot has been studied. The use of ultrasound is found to have significant improvement in the extraction efficiency of colorant obtained from beetroot. Based on the experiments it has been found that a mixture of 1:1 ethanol-water with 80W ultrasonic power for 3h contact time provided better yield and extraction efficiency. Pulse mode operation may be useful in reducing electrical energy consumption in the extraction process. The effect of the amount of beetroot used in relation to extraction efficiency has also been studied. Two-stage extraction has been studied and found to be beneficial for improving the yield for higher amounts of beetroot. Significant 8% enhancement in % yield of colorant has been achieved with ultrasound, 80W as compared to MS process both using 1:1 ethanol-water. The coloring ability of extracted beet dye has been tested on substrates such as leather and paper and found to be suitable for dyeing. Ultrasound is also found to be beneficial in natural dyeing of leather with improved rate of exhaustion. Both the dyed substrates have better color values for ultrasonic beet extract as inferred from

  18. Comparison of needle aspiration and vacuum-assisted biopsy in the ultrasound-guided drainage of lactational breast abscesses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun-Dan Kang

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare needle aspiration and vacuum-assistedbiopsy in the ultrasound-guided treatment of lactational breast abscesses. Methods: Between January 2005 and December 2014, a total of 74 patients presented withlactational breast abscesses. Thirty of these patients underwent treatment with antibioticsalone, while the remaining 44 lactating women with breast abscesses were treated withneedle aspiration (n=25 or vacuum-assisted biopsy (n=19. Age, duration of lactation, abscess diameter, pus culture results, the number of interventions, the healing time, and the cure rate were reviewed and compared between these two groups. The Student’s t test and the chi-square test were used to compare the variables. Results: No significant difference was found in the cure rate between the needle aspirationgroup (22/25, 88% and the vacuum-assisted biopsy group (18/19, 94.7% (P=0.441. However, the mean healing time was significantly shorter in the vacuum-assisted biopsy group (6.7 days than in the needle aspiration group (9.0 days (P=0.001. Conclusion: Vacuum-assisted biopsy is a viable option for the management of lactational breast abscesses and was found to lead to a shorter healing time than needle aspiration. However, further study is necessary to establish the clinical efficacy of vacuum-assisted biopsy in the management of lactational breast abscesses.

  19. Using Power Ultrasound to Accelerate Food Freezing Processes: Effects on Freezing Efficiency and Food Microstructure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Peizhi; Zhu, Zhiwei; Sun, Da-Wen

    2018-05-31

    Freezing is an effective way of food preservation. However, traditional freezing methods have the disadvantages of low freezing efficiency and generation of large ice crystals, leading to possible damage of food quality. Power ultrasound assisted freezing as a novel technique can effectively reduce the adverse effects during freezing process. This paper gives an overview on recent researches of power ultrasound technique to accelerate the food freezing processes and illustrates the main principles of power ultrasound assisted freezing. The effects of power ultrasound on liquid food, model solid food as well as fruit and vegetables are discussed, respectively, from the aspects of increasing freezing rate and improving microstructure. It is shown that ultrasound assisted freezing can effectively improve the freezing efficiency and promote the formation of small and evenly distributed ice crystals, resulting in better food quality. Different inherent properties of food samples affect the effectiveness of ultrasound application and optimum ultrasound parameters depend on the nature of the samples. The application of ultrasound to the food industry is more likely on certain types of food products and more efforts are still needed to realize the industrial translation of laboratory results.

  20. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Total Flavonoids from Corn Silk and Their Antioxidant Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ling-Li Zheng

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Object. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of total flavonoids from corn silk and their antioxidant activities were studied. Methods. Response surface methodology was adopted to optimize the extraction conditions and antioxidant activities of the extracted total flavonoids were detected through ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP assay. Results. Through a three-level, three-variable Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM adopting yield as response, the optimal conditions were determined as follows: ultrasonic power 500 W, extraction time 20 min, material solvent ratio 1 : 20, and ethanol concentration 30%. Under the optimum conditions, the extraction yield of total flavonoids was 1.13%. FRAP value of total flavonoids extracted from corn silk was 467.59 μmol/L. Conclusion. The total flavonoids of corn silk could be developed as food natural antioxidant reagents.

  1. Ultrasound-assisted swelling of bacterial cellulose

    OpenAIRE

    Song, J.; Su, Jing; Loureiro, Ana; Sá, M.; Cavaco-Paulo, Artur; Kim, Hye Rim; Silva, Carla

    2017-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) was obtained by static cultivation using commercial BC gel from scoby. BC membranes (oven dried and freeze-dried) were swelled with 8% NaOH, in absence and in presence of ultrasound (US), for 30, 60 and 90 min. The influence of swelling conditions on both physico-chemical properties and molecules entrapment was evaluated. Considering the highest levels of entrapment, an optimum swelling procedure was established: 8% NaOH for 30 min. at room temperature in the presence...

  2. EFSUMB Guidelines on Interventional Ultrasound (INVUS), Part III - Abdominal Treatment Procedures (Long Version)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dietrich, Christoph F; Lorentzen, T.; Appelbaum, L.

    2016-01-01

    The third part of the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) Guidelines on Interventional Ultrasound (INVUS) assesses the evidence for ultrasound-guided and assisted interventions in abdominal treatment procedures. Recommendations for clinical practice ar...

  3. EFSUMB Guidelines on Interventional Ultrasound (INVUS), Part III - Abdominal Treatment Procedures (Short Version)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dietrich, Christoph F; Lorentzen, T.; Appelbaum, L.

    2016-01-01

    The third part of the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) Guidelines on Interventional Ultrasound assesses the evidence for ultrasound-guided and assisted interventions in abdominal treatment procedures. Recommendations for clinical practice are presen...

  4. Edge reactivity and water-assisted dissociation on cobalt oxide nanoislands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fester, J.; García-Melchor, M.; Walton, A. S.; Bajdich, M.

    2017-01-01

    Here, transition metal oxides show great promise as Earth-abundant catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in electrochemical water splitting. However, progress in the development of highly active oxide nanostructures is hampered by a lack of knowledge of the location and nature of the active sites. Here we show, through atom-resolved scanning tunnelling microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy and computational modelling, how hydroxyls form from water dissociation at under coordinated cobalt edge sites of cobalt oxide nanoislands. Surprisingly, we find that an additional water molecule acts to promote all the elementary steps of the dissociation process and subsequent hydrogen migration, revealing the important assisting role of a water molecule in its own dissociation process on a metal oxide. Inspired by the experimental findings, we theoretically model the oxygen evolution reaction activity of cobalt oxide nanoislands and show that the nanoparticle metal edges also display favourable adsorption energetics for water oxidation under electrochemical conditions.

  5. Neuromuscular ultrasound of cranial nerves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tawfik, Eman A; Walker, Francis O; Cartwright, Michael S

    2015-04-01

    Ultrasound of cranial nerves is a novel subdomain of neuromuscular ultrasound (NMUS) which may provide additional value in the assessment of cranial nerves in different neuromuscular disorders. Whilst NMUS of peripheral nerves has been studied, NMUS of cranial nerves is considered in its initial stage of research, thus, there is a need to summarize the research results achieved to date. Detailed scanning protocols, which assist in mastery of the techniques, are briefly mentioned in the few reference textbooks available in the field. This review article focuses on ultrasound scanning techniques of the 4 accessible cranial nerves: optic, facial, vagus and spinal accessory nerves. The relevant literatures and potential future applications are discussed.

  6. Ultrasound Assisted Particle Size Control by Continuous Seed Generation and Batch Growth

    OpenAIRE

    Jordens, Jeroen; Canini, Enio; Gielen, Bjorn; Van Gerven, Tom; Braeken, Leen

    2017-01-01

    Controlling particle size is essential for crystal quality in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Several articles illustrate the potential of ultrasound to tune this particle size during the crystallization process. This paper investigates how ultrasound can control the particle size distribution (PSD) of acetaminophen crystals by continuous seed generation in a tubular crystallizer followed by batch growth. It is demonstrated that the supersaturation ratio at which ultrasound starts s...

  7. Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Crude Oil from Winter Melon (Benincasa hispida Seed Using Response Surface Methodology and Evaluation of Its Antioxidant Activity, Total Phenolic Content and Fatty Acid Composition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Zaidul Islam Sarker

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, ultrasound-assisted extraction of crude oil from winter melon seeds was investigated through response surface methodology (RSM. Process variables were power level (25–75%, temperature (45–55 °C and sonication time (20–40 min. It was found that all process variables have significant (p < 0.05 effects on the response variable. A central composite design (CCD was used to determine the optimum process conditions. Optimal conditions were identified as 65% power level, 52 °C temperature and 36 min sonication time for maximum crude yield (108.62 mg-extract/g-dried matter. The antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and fatty acid composition of extract obtained under optimized conditions were determined and compared with those of oil obtained by the Soxhlet method. It was found that crude extract yield (CEY of ultrasound-assisted extraction was lower than that of the Soxhlet method, whereas antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the extract obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction were clearly higher than those of the Soxhlet extract. Furthermore, both extracts were rich in unsaturated fatty acids. The major fatty acids of the both extracts were linoleic acid and oleic acid.

  8. Metamaterial Behavior of Polymer Nanocomposites Based on Polypropylene/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Fabricated by Means of Ultrasound-Assisted Extrusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan C. Pérez-Medina

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Metamaterial behavior of polymer nanocomposites (NCs based on isotactic polypropylene (iPP and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs was investigated based on the observation of a negative dielectric constant (ε′. It is demonstrated that as the dielectric constant switches from negative to positive, the plasma frequency (ωp depends strongly on the ultrasound-assisted fabrication method, as well as on the melt flow index of the iPP. NCs were fabricated using ultrasound-assisted extrusion methods with 10 wt % loadings of MWCNTs in iPPs with different melt flow indices (MFI. AC electrical conductivity (σ(AC as a function of frequency was determined to complement the electrical classification of the NCs, which were previously designated as insulating (I, static-dissipative (SD, and conductive (C materials. It was found that the SD and C materials can also be classified as metamaterials (M. This type of behavior emerges from the negative dielectric constant observed at low frequencies although, at certain frequencies, the dielectric constant becomes positive. Our method of fabrication allows for the preparation of metamaterials with tunable ωp. iPP pure samples show only positive dielectric constants. Electrical conductivity increases in all cases with the addition of MWCNTs with the largest increases observed for samples with the highest MFI. A relationship between MFI and the fabrication method, with respect to electrical properties, is reported.

  9. Metamaterial Behavior of Polymer Nanocomposites Based on Polypropylene/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Fabricated by Means of Ultrasound-Assisted Extrusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Medina, Juan C.; Waldo-Mendoza, Miguel A.; Cruz-Delgado, Víctor J.; Quiñones-Jurado, Zoe V.; González-Morones, Pablo; Ziolo, Ronald F.; Martínez-Colunga, Juan G.; Soriano-Corral, Florentino; Avila-Orta, Carlos A.

    2016-01-01

    Metamaterial behavior of polymer nanocomposites (NCs) based on isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was investigated based on the observation of a negative dielectric constant (ε′). It is demonstrated that as the dielectric constant switches from negative to positive, the plasma frequency (ωp) depends strongly on the ultrasound-assisted fabrication method, as well as on the melt flow index of the iPP. NCs were fabricated using ultrasound-assisted extrusion methods with 10 wt % loadings of MWCNTs in iPPs with different melt flow indices (MFI). AC electrical conductivity (σ(AC)) as a function of frequency was determined to complement the electrical classification of the NCs, which were previously designated as insulating (I), static-dissipative (SD), and conductive (C) materials. It was found that the SD and C materials can also be classified as metamaterials (M). This type of behavior emerges from the negative dielectric constant observed at low frequencies although, at certain frequencies, the dielectric constant becomes positive. Our method of fabrication allows for the preparation of metamaterials with tunable ωp. iPP pure samples show only positive dielectric constants. Electrical conductivity increases in all cases with the addition of MWCNTs with the largest increases observed for samples with the highest MFI. A relationship between MFI and the fabrication method, with respect to electrical properties, is reported. PMID:28774042

  10. Real-time three-dimensional ultrasound-assisted axillary plexus block defines soft tissue planes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clendenen, Steven R; Riutort, Kevin; Ladlie, Beth L; Robards, Christopher; Franco, Carlo D; Greengrass, Roy A

    2009-04-01

    Two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound is commonly used for regional block of the axillary brachial plexus. In this technical case report, we described a real-time three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound-guided axillary block. The difference between 2D and 3D ultrasound is similar to the difference between plain radiograph and computer tomography. Unlike 2D ultrasound that captures a planar image, 3D ultrasound technology acquires a 3D volume of information that enables multiple planes of view by manipulating the image without movement of the ultrasound probe. Observation of the brachial plexus in cross-section demonstrated distinct linear hyperechoic tissue structures (loose connective tissue) that initially inhibited the flow of the local anesthesia. After completion of the injection, we were able to visualize the influence of arterial pulsation on the spread of the local anesthesia. Possible advantages of this novel technology over current 2D methods are wider image volume and the capability to manipulate the planes of the image without moving the probe.

  11. The endoscopic ultrasound-assisted Rendez-Vous technique for treatment of recurrent pancreatitis due to pancreas divisum and ansa pancreatica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio López-Durán

    Full Text Available Endoscopic treatment of pancreatic ductal malformations causing recurrent acute pancreatitis, such as pancreas divisum or ansa pancreatica, is mainly based on the sphincterotomy of the minor papilla. However, the technical complexity of conventional endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP is increased in patients presenting anatomical variants like these and it may be unsuccessful. We report the case of a pancreas divisum combined with ansa pancreatica and describe the cannulation and sphincterotomy of the minor papilla using an ultrasound-assisted Rendez-Vous technique.

  12. Sonochemical assisted hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO: Cr nanoparticles loaded activated carbon for simultaneous ultrasound-assisted adsorption of ternary toxic organic dye: Derivative spectrophotometric, optimization, kinetic and isotherm study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamshidi, M; Ghaedi, M; Dashtian, K; Hajati, S; Bazrafshan, A A

    2016-09-01

    Chromium doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO: Cr-NPs) was synthesized by ultrasonically assisted hydrothermal method and characterized by FE-SEM, XRD and TEM analysis. Subsequently, this composite ultrasonically assisted was deposited on activated carbon (ZnO: Cr-NPs-AC) and used for simultaneous ultrasound-assisted removal of three toxic organic dye namely of malachite green (MG), eosin yellow (EY) and Auramine O (AO). Dyes spectra overlap in mixture (major problem for simultaneous investigation) of this systems was extensively resolved by derivative spectrophotometric method. The magnitude of variables like initial dyes concentration, adsorbent mass and sonication time influence on dyes removal was optimized using small central composite design (CCD) combined with desirability function (DF) approach, while pH was studied by one-a-time approach. The maximized removal percentages at desirability of 0.9740 was set as follow: pH 6.0, 0.019g ZnO: Cr-NPs-AC, 3.9min sonication at 4.5, 4.8 and 4.7mgL(-1) of MG, EY and AO, respectively. Above optimized points lead to achievement of removal percentage of 98.36%, 97.24%, and 99.26% correspond to MG, EY and AO, respectively. ANOVA for each dyes based p-value less than (<0.0001) suggest highly efficiency of CCD model for prediction of data concern to simultaneous removal of these dyes within 95% confidence interval, while their F-value for MG, EY and AO is 935, 800.2, and 551.3, respectively, that confirm low participation of this them in signal. The value of multiple correlation coefficient R(2), adjusted and predicted R(2) for simultaneous removal of MG is 0.9982, 0.9972 and 0.9940, EY is 0.9979, 0.9967 and 0.9930 and for AO is 0.9970, 0.9952 and 0.9939. The adsorption rate well fitted by pseudo second-order and Langmuir model via high, economic and profitable adsorption capacity of 214.0, 189.7 and 211.6mgg(-1) for MG, EY and AO, respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Initial Experience of Tomosynthesis-Guided Vacuum-Assisted Biopsies of Tomosynthesis-Detected (2D Mammography and Ultrasound Occult) Architectural Distortions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Bhavika K; Covington, Matthew; Pizzitola, Victor J; Lorans, Roxanne; Giurescu, Marina; Eversman, William; Lewin, John

    2018-03-23

    As experience and aptitude in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) have increased, radiologists are seeing more areas of architectural distortion (AD) on DBT images compared with standard 2D mammograms. The purpose of this study is to report our experience using tomosynthesis-guided vacuum-assisted biopsies (VABs) for ADs that were occult at 2D mammography and ultrasound and to analyze the positive predictive value for malignancy. We performed a retrospective review of 34 DBT-detected ADs that were occult at mammography and ultrasound. We found a positive predictive value of 26% (nine malignancies in 34 lesions). Eight of the malignancies were invasive and one was ductal carcinoma in situ. The invasive cancers were grade 1 (4/8; 50%), grade 2 (2/8; 25%), or grade 3 (1/8; 13%); information about one invasive cancer was not available. The mean size of the invasive cancers at pathologic examination was 7.5 mm (range, 6-30 mm). Tomosynthesis-guided VAB is a feasible method to sample ADs that are occult at 2D mammography and ultrasound. Tomosynthesis-guided VAB is a minimally invasive method that detected a significant number of carcinomas, most of which were grade 1 cancers. Further studies are needed.

  14. Microwave-assisted synthesis and optical properties of cuprous oxide micro/nanocrystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Dandan [Key Laboratory of Processing and Testing Technology of Glass and Functional Ceramics of Shandong Province, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250353 (China); Du, Yi, E-mail: duyi234@126.com [Key Laboratory of Processing and Testing Technology of Glass and Functional Ceramics of Shandong Province, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250353 (China); Tian, Xiuying, E-mail: xiuyingt@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hunan Institute of Humanities Science and Technology, Loudi 417000 (China); Li, Zhongfu; Chen, Zhongtao; Zhu, Chaofeng [Key Laboratory of Processing and Testing Technology of Glass and Functional Ceramics of Shandong Province, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250353 (China)

    2014-12-15

    Graphical abstract: Cuprous oxide micro/nanocrystals were fabricated by a facile and green microwave-assisted method using soluble starch as reductant and dispersant. Spheres with the diameter of about 100 and 600 nm, octahedron and truncated octahedron with the edge length of about 0.8–3 μm cuprous oxide micro/nanocrystals were successfully obtained. Microwave heating was proved to be a efficient method and was advantageous to the homogeneous nucleation. Growth mechanism of the prepared Cu{sub 2}O microcrystals were investigated carefully. Furthermore, the optical properties of the prepared cuprous oxide microcrystals were investigated by UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, demonstrating that their band gaps of obtained samples were 1.96–2.07 eV, assigned to their different sizes and morphologies. - Abstract: Cuprous oxide micro/nanocrystals were fabricated by a facile and green microwave-assisted method using soluble starch as reductant and dispersant. It was observed that the addition amounts of NaOH had a prominent effect on the morphologies and size of cuprous oxide products, and microwave heating was proved to be a efficient method and was advantageous to the homogeneous nucleation. The as-obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results indicated that the samples were pure cuprous oxide. Spheres with the diameter of about 100 and 600 nm, octahedron and truncated octahedron with the edge length of about 0.8–3 μm cuprous oxide micro/nanocrystals were successfully obtained. Furthermore, the UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was used to investigate the optical properties of the prepared cuprous oxide microcrystals, demonstrating that their band gaps of obtained samples were 1.96–2.07 eV, assigned to their different sizes and morphologies.

  15. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction provides a source for functional adipose-derived stromal cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duscher, Dominik; Maan, Zeshaan N; Luan, Anna; Aitzetmüller, Matthias M; Brett, Elizabeth A; Atashroo, David; Whittam, Alexander J; Hu, Michael S; Walmsley, Graham G; Houschyar, Khosrow S; Schilling, Arndt F; Machens, Hans-Guenther; Gurtner, Geoffrey C; Longaker, Michael T; Wan, Derrick C

    2017-12-01

    Regenerative medicine employs human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for their multi-lineage plasticity and their pro-regenerative cytokine secretome. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ASCs) are concentrated in fat tissue, and the ease of harvest via liposuction makes them a particularly interesting cell source. However, there are various liposuction methods, and few have been assessed regarding their impact on ASC functionality. Here we study the impact of the two most popular ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) devices currently in clinical use, VASER (Solta Medical) and Lysonix 3000 (Mentor) on ASCs. After lipoaspirate harvest and processing, we sorted for ASCs using fluorescent-assisted cell sorting based on an established surface marker profile (CD34 + CD31 - CD45 - ). ASC yield, viability, osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation capacity and in vivo regenerative performance were assessed. Both UAL samples demonstrated equivalent ASC yield and viability. VASER UAL ASCs showed higher osteogenic and adipogenic marker expression, but a comparable differentiation capacity was observed. Soft tissue healing and neovascularization were significantly enhanced via both UAL-derived ASCs in vivo, and there was no significant difference between the cell therapy groups. Taken together, our data suggest that UAL allows safe and efficient harvesting of the mesenchymal stromal cellular fraction of adipose tissue and that cells harvested via this approach are suitable for cell therapy and tissue engineering applications. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Simultaneous determination of butyltin and phenyltin species in sediments using ultrasound-assisted leaching

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carpinteiro, J.; Rodriguez, I.; Cela, R. [Dpto. Quimica Analitica, Nutricion y Bromatologia, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

    2001-08-01

    A fast and simple procedure is presented for the simultaneous leaching of butyl (mono, di and tributyl) and phenyl organotin species from sediment samples. Leached compounds are further ethylated with sodium tetraethylborate in aqueous medium, and analyzed by gas chromatography. After testing the stability of triphenyltin under different extraction conditions, ultrasound-assisted leaching at room temperature in the presence of acetic acid was been proposed as an extraction procedure compatible with the simultaneous determination of phenyl- and butyltin compounds in sediments. Recoveries between 70 and 90% were obtained for phenyl species in spiked samples prepared in the laboratory. Results for butyltin species were validated by use of the reference material PACS-2. Quantification limits, using GC-MIP-AES as measurement technique, were approximately 5-10 ng g{sup -1}. Precision in the consecutive analysis of three sediment samples varied between 3 and 10%. (orig.)

  17. Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy after High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Failure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leon Telis

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men. As new focal therapies become more popular in treatment of prostate cancer, failure cases requiring salvage therapy with either surgical or other techniques are being reported. Objective. To report the options in treatment of prostate cancer after recurrence or failure of the primary treatment modality. Methods. We report a salvage robotic assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP for prostate cancer recurrence following high intensity focused ultrasound treatment (HIFU in the United States. Results. A 67-year-old man who underwent HIFU treatment for prostate adenocarcinoma 2 years prior was presented with a rising prostate specific antigen of 6.1 ng/mL to our clinic. A biopsy proven recurrent disease in the area of previous treatment documented the failure of treatment. The patient elected to undergo a salvage RALP. The operation time was 159 minutes. The patient was discharged from the hospital on postoperative day 1 with no complications. The catheter was removed on post-op day 10. The patient reserved sexual function and urinary continence. The PSA levels on 6 months’ follow-up are undetectable. Conclusions. Salvage RALP is an effective and safe treatment choice for recurrent prostate adenocarcinoma following failed HIFU treatment if operated by an experienced surgeon.

  18. Time-reversal acoustics and ultrasound-assisted convection-enhanced drug delivery to the brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olbricht, William; Sistla, Manjari; Ghandi, Gaurav; Lewis, George; Sarvazyan, Armen

    2013-08-01

    Time-reversal acoustics is an effective way of focusing ultrasound deep inside heterogeneous media such as biological tissues. Convection-enhanced delivery is a method of delivering drugs into the brain by infusing them directly into the brain interstitium. These two technologies are combined in a focusing system that uses a "smart needle" to simultaneously infuse fluid into the brain and provide the necessary feedback for focusing ultrasound using time-reversal acoustics. The effects of time-reversal acoustics-focused ultrasound on the spatial distribution of infused low- and high-molecular weight tracer molecules are examined in live, anesthetized rats. Results show that exposing the rat brain to focused ultrasound significantly increases the penetration of infused compounds into the brain. The addition of stabilized microbubbles enhances the effect of ultrasound exposure.

  19. Synthesis of yttrium oxide nanoparticles via a facile microplasma-assisted process

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lin, Liangliang; Starostin, Sergey A.; Li, Sirui; Khan, Saif A.; Hessel, Volker

    2018-01-01

    Plasma electrochemistry is an emerging technique for nanomaterial synthesis. The present study reports the preparation of yttrium oxide nanoparticles via a simple, environmentally benign, microplasma-assisted process operated in pin-to-liquid configuration under ambient atmospheric conditions using

  20. VUV photo-oxidation of gaseous benzene combined with ozone-assisted catalytic oxidation: Effect on transition metal catalyst

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Haibao; Lu, Haoxian; Zhan, Yujie; Liu, Gaoyuan; Feng, Qiuyu; Huang, Huiling; Wu, Muyan; Ye, Xinguo

    2017-01-01

    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) cause the major air pollution concern. In this study, a series of ZSM-5 supported transition metals were prepared by impregnation method. They were combined with vacuum UV (VUV) photo-oxidation in a continuous-flow packed-bed reactor and used for the degradation of benzene, a typical toxic VOCs. Compared with VUV photo-oxidation alone, the introduction of catalysts can greatly enhance benzene oxidation under the help of O3, the by-products from VUV irradiation, via ozone-assisted catalytic oxidation (OZCO). The catalytic activity of transition metals towards benzene oxidation followed the order: Mn > Co > Cu > Ni > Fe. Mn achieved the best catalytic activity due to the strongest capability for O3 catalytic decomposition and utilization. Benzene and O3 removal efficiency reached as high as 97% and 100% after 360 min, respectively. O3 was catalytically decomposed, generating highly reactive oxidants such as rad OH and rad O for benzene oxidation.

  1. Fermentation Assisted by Pulsed Electric Field and Ultrasound: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leandro Galván-D’Alessandro

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Various novel techniques are proposed to improve process efficiency, quality, and safety of fermented food products. Ultrasound and pulsed electric field (PEF are versatile technologies that can be employed in conjunction with fermentation processes to enhance process efficiency and production rates by improving mass transfer and cell permeability. The aim of this review is to highlight current and potential applications of ultrasound and PEF techniques in food fermentation processes. Their effects on microbial enzymes, along with mechanisms of action, are also discussed.

  2. Process optimization of ultrasound-assisted alcoholic-alkaline treatment for granular cold water swelling starches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Bo; Liu, Jianli; Gao, Weidong

    2017-09-01

    This paper reports on the process optimization of ultrasonic assisted alcoholic-alkaline treatment to prepare granular cold water swelling (GCWS) starches. In this work, three statistical approaches such as Plackett-Burman, steepest ascent path analysis and Box-Behnken design were successfully combined to investigate the effects of major treatment process variables including starch concentration, ethanol volume fraction, sodium hydroxide dosage, ultrasonic power and treatment time, and drying operation, that is, vacuum degree and drying time on cold-water solubility. Results revealed that ethanol volume fraction, sodium hydroxide dosage, applied power and ultrasonic treatment time were significant factors that affected the cold-water solubility of GCWS starches. The maximum cold-water solubility was obtained when treated at 400W of applied power for 27.38min. Optimum volume fraction of ethanol and sodium hydroxide dosage were 66.85% and 53.76mL, respectively. The theoretical values (93.87%) and the observed values (93.87%) were in reasonably good agreement and the deviation was less than 1%. Verification and repeated trial results indicated that the ultrasound-assisted alcoholic-alkaline treatment could be successfully used for the preparation of granular cold water swelling starches at room temperatures and had excellent improvement on the cold-water solubility of GCWS starches. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction and Characterization of Pectic Polysaccharide from Oriental Tobacco Leaves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, S.; Tian, Z.; Li, X.; He, P.; Xu, C.

    2015-01-01

    Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of pectic Polysaccharide from oriental tobacco leaves was studied by orthogonal matrix method (L9(3)4). Furthermore, the crude Polysaccharide was purified and two components (Fr-I and Fr-II) were obtained. FT-IR spectral analysis of the purified EPS revealed prominent characteristic groups. The monosaccharide composition analysis indicated the main composition between Fr-I and Fr-II was different. Furthermore, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated the degradation temperature (Td) of the Fr-I (215 degree C) was higher than those of Fr-II (162 degree C). Detected by the pyrolysis GC/MS, though the main kinds of pyrolysis products from both Fr-I and Fr-II were similar, the larger amount of heterocycle and aromatic compounds liberated after hydrolysis of Fr-II. Finally, On the basis of the antioxidant activity test in vitro, Fr-II has stronger antioxidant activities than Fr-I. The thermal behavior and antioxidant activity might be attributed to the configuration of the sugar units and chemical compositions. (author)

  4. Determination of total arsenic and arsenic(III) in phosphate fertilizers by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry after ultrasound-assisted extraction based on a control acid media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezende, Helen Cristine; Coelho, Nivia Maria Melo

    2014-01-01

    An ultrasound-assisted extraction procedure was developed for determination of inorganic arsenic (As) in phosphate fertilizer by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The variables that affect the hydride generation step were optimized, including the reducer, acid, sample flow rate, and concentrations of the acid and reducer. The determination of As(lll) was performed through the simple control of solution pH with a 0.5 M citric acid-sodium citrate buffer solution at pH 4.5, and total As was determined after a pre-reduction reaction with 1.0% (w/v) thiourea. Ultrasound-assisted acid extraction was performed, and the parameters sonication time and acid and Triton X-114 concentrations were optimized using a 23 factorial design and central composite design. LODs for As(lll) and total As were 0.029 and 0.022 microg/L, respectively. The accuracy of the method was confirmed with certified reference materials. The method was successfully applied in the determination of inorganic As in phosphate fertilizer samples.

  5. Ultrasound-assisted extraction and preliminary purification of proanthocyanidins and chlorogenic acid from almond (Prunus dulcis) skin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xue; Zhou, Xin-Yu; Qiang, Qian-Qian; Zhang, Zhi-Qi

    2014-07-01

    An aqueous solution of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a green solvent was employed for the first time to develop the ultrasound-assisted extraction of proanthocyanidins (PA) and chlorogenic acid (CA) from almond skin. The optimized extraction parameters were determined based on response surface methodology, and corresponded to an ultrasound power of 120 W, a liquid-to-solid ratio of 20:1 (mL/g), and a PEG concentration of 50% (v/v). Under these optimized conditions, the extraction yields of PAs and CA from almond skin were 32.68 ± 0.22 and 16.01 ± 0.19 mg/g, respectively. Compared with organic solvent extraction, PEG solution extraction produced higher yields. Different macroporous resins were compared for their performance in purifying PAs and CA from almond skin extract. Static adsorption/desorption experimental results demonstrated that AB-8 resin exhibits excellent purification performance at pH 4. Under the optimized dynamic adsorption/desorption conditions on the AB-8 column, the total recovery of purification for PAs and CA was 80.67%. The total content of PAs and CA in the preliminarily purified extract was 89.17% (with respective contents of 60.90 and 28.27%). © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Ultrasound assisted PTC catalyzed saponification of vegetable oils using aqueous alkali.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatkhande, B S; Samant, S D

    1998-03-01

    A few vegetable oils were saponified using aqueous KOH and different PTCs at room temperature in the presence of ultrasound. The extent of saponification was studied using the saponification value as a reference. Optimizations of various parameters such as time, selection of PTC, quantity of PTC, quantity of KOH and quantity of water were carried out using soyabean oil as a sample oil under sonication with stirring. To study the effect of ultrasound, the saponification was also carried out at 35 +/- 2 degrees C under different conditions, namely stirring, sonication, stirring and sonication, and heating at 100 degrees C. It was found that the heterogeneous liquid-liquid phase saponification of different vegetable oils using aq. KOH/CTAB was remarkably accelerated at 35 +/- 2 degrees C in the presence of ultrasound along with stirring.

  7. Enhancement or Reduction of Sonochemical Activity of Pulsed Ultrasound Compared to Continuous Ultrasound at 20 kHz?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yujing Sun

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Little is known about the efficacy of pulsed ultrasound compared with continuous ultrasound. Previous studies on the efficacy of pulsed ultrasound were not systematic and gave different results. In this study, the effects of pulse length, pulse interval, pulse length × pulse intervals, and treatment time on sonochemical activity were investigated using a simple oxidation of iodide method and a comparison of the efficacy of pulsed ultrasound and continuous ultrasound is made. The results showed that the main factor in the efficacy of pulsed ultrasound was pulse length when pulse length varied from 0.1 to 1 s. However, the main factors were pulse length, the pulse length × pulse interval, and pulse interval when pulse length varied from 1 to 9 s. Pulsed ultrasound had no effect when the pulse length was 0.1 s; however, the sonochemical activity of pulsed ultrasound decreased compared to continuous ultrasound as the pulse length varied from 0.1 to 1 s. The sonochemical activity of pulsed ultrasound either increased or decreased compared to continuous ultrasound when pulse length varied from 1 to 9 s, but the increase or decrease had no clear trend. The sonochemical activity was constant at Ton/Toff = 2 s/2 s and slightly decreased at Ton/Toff = 3 s/2 s with time, whereas the sonochemical activity of continuous ultrasound significantly decreased with time. Enhancement or reduction of sonochemical activity of pulsed ultrasound compared to continuous ultrasound depended on the pulse length and pulse interval.

  8. Development and validation of an efficient ultrasound assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corbin, Cyrielle; Fidel, Thibaud; Leclerc, Emilie A; Barakzoy, Esmatullah; Sagot, Nadine; Falguiéres, Annie; Renouard, Sullivan; Blondeau, Jean-Philippe; Ferroud, Clotilde; Doussot, Joël; Lainé, Eric; Hano, Christophe

    2015-09-01

    Flaxseed accumulates in its seedcoat a macromolecular complex composed of lignan (secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, SDG), flavonol (herbacetin diglucoside, HDG) and hydroxycinnamic acids (p-couramic, caffeic and ferulic acid glucosides). Their antioxidant and/or cancer chemopreventive properties support their interest in human health and therefore, the demand for their extraction. In the present study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of flaxseed phenolic compounds was investigated. Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging and histochemical analysis revealed the deep alteration of the seedcoat ultrastructure and the release of the mucilage following ultrasound treatment. Therefore, this method was found to be very efficient for the reduction of mucilage entrapment of flaxseed phenolics. The optimal conditions for UAE phenolic compounds extraction from flaxseeds were found to be: water as solvent supplemented with 0.2N of sodium hydroxide for alkaline hydrolysis of the SDG-HMG complex, an extraction time of 60 min at a temperature of 25°C and an ultrasound frequency of 30 kHz. Under these optimized and validated conditions, highest yields of SDG, HDG and hydroxycinnamic acid glucosides were detected in comparison to other published methods. Therefore, the procedure presented herein is a valuable method for efficient extraction and quantification of the main flaxseed phenolics. Moreover, this UAE is of particular interest within the context of green chemistry in terms of reducing energy consumption and valuation of flaxseed cakes as by-products resulting from the production of flax oil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Ultrasound assisted dispersion of different amount of Ni over ZSM-5 used as nanostructured catalyst for hydrogen production via CO2 reforming of methane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vafaeian, Yaser; Haghighi, Mohammad; Aghamohammadi, Sogand

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: A series of Ni/ZSM-5 nanocatalysts with different amount of Ni were prepared via ultrasound assisted method and characterized with XRD, FESEM, TEM, BET and FTIR techniques. The research deals with catalyst development for dry reforming of methane with the aim of reaching the most stable catalyst specifically over nano-sized catalysts. About more than 99% of Ni particles size is less than 100 nm for the sample prepared with 8% Ni, which is essential to the relative suppression of the carbon formation on catalysts. Catalyst prepared with 8% Ni content showed superior activity in process expected due to its better catalytic properties. - Highlights: • Using ZSM-5 zeolite in dry reforming of methane. • Employing ultrasound energy in synthesis of Ni/ZSM-5 nanocatalyst. • Enhancement of Ni particles size to meet desired catalyst at lower amount of Ni loading. • Dry reforming of methane over Ni/ZSM-5 nanocatalyst with different Ni-loading. • Superior activity of Ni/ZSM-5 nanocatalyst synthesized with 8% Ni content. - Abstract: Carbon dioxide reforming of methane is an interesting route for synthesis gas production especially over nanostructured catalysts. The present research deals with nanocatalyst development by sonochemical method for dry reforming of methane with the aim of reaching the most efficient nanocatalyst. Effect of Ni metal content, one of the most significant variables, on the properties of the ZSM-5 supported nanocatalysts was taken into account. The Ni/ZSM-5 nanocatalysts were prepared via assisted traditional impregnation method via ultrasound irradiation and characterized with XRD, FESEM, TEM, BET and FTIR techniques. Comparison of XRD patterns implies that the peaks related to NiO become sharper by increasing metal content over the support. In the case of nanocatalysts with lower metal content (3% and 8%), the beneficial influence of ultrasound assisted procedure become more pronounced and the observed reduction in

  10. Preparation of nanomaterials for the ultrasound-enhanced removal of Pb2+ ions and malachite green dye: Chemometric optimization and modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dil, Ebrahim Alipanahpour; Ghaedi, Mehrorang; Asfaram, Arash; Hajati, Shaaker; Mehrabi, Fatemeh; Goudarzi, Alireza

    2017-01-01

    Copper oxide nanoparticle-loaded activated carbon (CuO-NP-AC) was synthesized and characterized using different techniques such as FE-SEM, XRD and FT-IR. It was successfully applied for the ultrasound-assisted simultaneous removal of Pb 2+ ions and malachite green (MG) dye in binary system from aqueous solution. The effect of important parameters was modeled and optimized by artificial neural network (ANN) and response surface methodology (RSM). Maximum simultaneous removal percentages (>99.0%) were found at 25mgL -1 , 20mgL -1 , 0.02g, 5min and 6.0 corresponding to initial Pb 2+ concentration, initial MG concentration, CuO-NP-AC amount, ultrasonication time and pH, respectively. The precision of the equation obtained by RSM was confirmed by the analysis of variance and calculation of correlation coefficient relating the predicted and the experimental values of ultrasound-assisted simultaneous removal of the analytes. A good agreement between experimental and predicted values was observed. A feed-forward neural network with a topology optimized by response surface methodology was successfully applied for the prediction of ultrasound-assisted simultaneous removal of Pb 2+ ions and MG dye in binary system by CuO-NPs-AC. The number of hidden neurons, MSE, R 2 , number of epochs and error histogram were chosen for ANN modeling. Then, Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and D-R isothermal models were applied for fitting the experimental data. It was found that the Langmuir model well describes the isotherm data with a maximum adsorption capacity of 98.328 and 87.719mgg -1 for Pb 2+ and MG, respectively. Kinetic studies at optimum condition showed that maximum Pb 2+ and MG adsorption is achieved within 5min of the start of most experiments. The combination of pseudo-second-order rate equation and intraparticle diffusion model was applicable to explain the experimental data of ultrasound-assisted simultaneous removal of Pb 2+ and MG at optimum condition obtained from RSM

  11. Application of High Power Ultrasound in Drying of Fruits and Vegetables

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Werner, Z.

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Ultrasound is a sound frequency in the range between 18 and 100 kHz that is above hearing of the human ear. High power ultrasound means application of intensities higher than 1 W cm–2 (usually in the range between I=10–1000Wcm–2. High power and low frequency ultrasound (f = 20 to 100 kHz is considered as “power ultrasound” because its application causes cavitation and is applied in the food industry. High power ultrasound is applied for degassing of liquid food, for induction of oxidation/reduction reactions, for extraction of enzymes and proteins, for inactivation of enzymes and induction of nucleation for crystallization. Ultrasound is anticipating heat transfer; it is used for emulsifying, sterilization, extraction, degassing, filtrating, drying and induction of oxidation. Conventional hot air drying is a very energy- and cost-intensive process. Drying is a simultaneous operation of heat and mass exchange that is followed by phase changes. Application of different pretreatments, like osmotic dehydration, ultrasound and ultrasound assisted osmotic dehydration has shown different effects on fruits and vegetables. When the high intensity acoustic energy is passing through solid material, it causes several fast and successive compressions and rarefactions with speeds that depend on the frequency applied. Thus, material is exposed to a series of exchangeable squeezing and relaxations, very like continuous squeezing and releasing of the sponge. This mechanism known as "rectified diffusion" is very important in acoustic drying and migration of water. Application of ultrasound as a pretreatment has shown great influence on reducing afterward hot air drying thereby reducing total drying time. It is also shown that pretreatment before drying facilitates better mass transfer and water diffusivity than osmotic dehydration. Quality of the product after drying is better because ultrasound pretreatment is applied at room temperature thus reducing

  12. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from Cratoxylum formosum ssp. formosum leaves using central composite design and evaluation of its protective ability against H2O2-induced cell death.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yingngam, Bancha; Monschein, Marlene; Brantner, Adelheid

    2014-09-01

    To optimize the processing parameters for phenolic compounds extracted from Cratoxylum formosum ssp. formosum leaves using an ultrasound-assisted extraction and to evaluate its protective ability against H2O2-induced cell death. The influence of three independent variables including ethanol concentration (%), extraction temperature (°C) and extraction time (min) on the extraction yield of phenolic compounds were optimized using a central composite design-based response surface methodology. The obtained extract was assessed for its antioxidant activity by DPPH(•) and ABTS(•)(+) methods. Cellular protective ability against H2O2-induced cell death was evaluated on HEK293 cells using the MTT assay. The optimal conditions to achieve maximal yields of phenolic compounds were ethanol concentration of 50.33% (v/v), temperature of 65 °C, and extractiontion time of 15 min. The yield of phenolic compounds was (40.00±1.00) mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry powder which matched well with the values predicted from the proposed model. These conditions resulted in a higher efficiency concerning the extraction of phenolics compared to a conventional heat reflux extraction by providing shorter extraction time and reduced energy consumption. 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid identified by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-electron spin ionization-mass spectrometry was the major compound in the obtained extract [(41.66±0.07) mg/g plant extract]. The obtained extract showed a strong ability to scavenge both DPPH(•) and ABTS(•)(+) free radicals and exhibited additionally good ability to protect HEK293 cells death against oxidative stress. These results indicate the suitability of ultrasound-assisted extraction for the extraction of phenolic compounds from Cratoxylum formosum ssp. formosum leaves. This phenolic-enriched extract can be used as valuable antioxidant source for health benefits. Copyright © 2014 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All

  13. A redox-assisted supramolecular assembly of manganese oxide nanotube

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tao Li; Sun Chenggao; Fan Meilian; Huang Caijuan; Wu Hailong; Chao Zisheng; Zhai Hesheng

    2006-01-01

    In this paper, we report the hydrothermal synthesis of manganese oxide nanotube from an aqueous medium of pH 7, using KMnO 4 and MnCl 2 as inorganic precursors, polyoxyethylene (10) nonyl phenyl ether (TX-10) a surfactant and acetaldehyde an additive. The characterization of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and N 2 adsorption at 77 K (BET) reveals that the synthesized manganese oxide nanotube has a mesopore size of ca. 3.65 nm and a wall thickness of ca. 12 nm, with the wall being composed of microporous crystals of monoclinic manganite. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) result demonstrates a decrease of the binding energy of the Mn 3+ in the manganese oxide nanotube, which may be related to both the nanotubular morphology and the crystalline pore wall. A mechanism of a redox-assisted supramolecular assembly, regulated by acetaldehyde, is postulated

  14. Atmospheric freeze drying assisted by power ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santacatalina, J V; Cárcel, J A; Garcia-Perez, J V; Mulet, A; Simal, S

    2012-01-01

    Atmospheric freeze drying (AFD) is considered an alternative to vacuum freeze drying to keep the quality of fresh product. AFD allows continuous drying reducing fix and operating costs, but presents, as main disadvantage, a long drying time required. The application of power ultrasound (US) can accelerate AFD process. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the application of power ultrasound to improve atmospheric freeze drying of carrot. For that purpose, AFD experiments were carried out with carrot cubes (10 mm side) at constant air velocity (2 ms −1 ), temperature (−10°C) and relative humidity (10%) with (20.5 kWm −3 ,USAFD) and without (AFD) ultrasonic application. A diffusion model was used in order to quantify the influence of US in drying kinetics. To evaluate the quality of dry products, rehydration capacity and textural properties were determined. The US application during AFD of carrot involved the increase of drying rate. The effective moisture diffusivity identified in USAFD was 73% higher than in AFD experiments. On the other hand, the rehydration capacity was higher in USAFD than in AFD and the hardness of dried samples did not show significant (p<0.05) differences. Therefore, US application during AFD significantly (p<0.05) sped-up the drying process preserving the quality properties of the dry product.

  15. Laparoscopic and ultrasound assisted management of gallstone ileus after biliointestinal bypass Case report and a review of literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zago, Mauro; Bozzo, Samantha; Centurelli, Andrea; Giovanelli, Alessandro; Vasino, Michele Ciocca

    2016-05-24

    To report about an additional case of biliary ileus after bariatric surgery is reported and extensively reviewing the literature on this topic. We reviewed the literature and found three cases of gallstone ileus (GI) that occurred after bariatric surgery. A 41 year old patient presented a GI eight years after a biliointestinal bypass (BIB) for morbid obesity. The patient complained of abdominal pain for two weeks. Computed tomography (CT) and abdominal ultrasound (US) allowed a preoperative diagnosis of GI and planning of surgical strategy. Surgical treatment was carried out through laparoscopic-assisted enterolithotomy alone procedure. This choice is supported discussing the related issues: morbidity, potential recurrence, eventual developing of gallbladder carcinoma. It is the first reported case of GI after BIB preoperatively diagnosed through CT scan and US, and treated with a laparoscopic assisted approach. Additional considerations concerning preoperative diagnosis, surgical strategy, technical details and follow-up can be usefully applied even in non post-bariatric biliary ileus. Biliointestinal bypass, Gallstone ileus, Laparoscopy, Ultrasonography.

  16. Synthesis of Graphite Oxide with Different Surface Oxygen Contents Assisted Microwave Radiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Ibarra-Hernández

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Graphite oxide is synthesized via oxidation reaction using oxidant compounds that have lattice defects by the incorporation of unlike functional groups. Herein, we report the synthesis of the graphite oxide with diverse surface oxygen content through three (B, C, D different modified versions of the Hummers method assisted microwave radiation compared with the conventional graphite oxide sample obtained by Hummers method (A. These methods allow not only the production of graphite oxide but also reduced graphene oxide, without undergoing chemical, thermal, or mechanical reduction steps. The values obtained of C/O ratio were ~2, 3.4, and ~8.5 for methodologies C, B, and D, respectively, indicating the presence of graphite oxide and reduced graphene oxide, according to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy of method D shows the fewest structural defects compared to the other methodologies. The results obtained suggest that the permanganate ion produces reducing species during graphite oxidation. The generation of these species is attributed to a reversible reaction between the permanganate ion with π electrons, ions, and radicals produced after treatment with microwave radiation.

  17. Effect of irradiation power and time on ultrasound assisted co-precipitation of nanostructured CuO–ZnO–Al2O3 over HZSM-5 used for direct conversion of syngas to DME as a green fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allahyari, Somaiyeh; Haghighi, Mohammad; Ebadi, Amanollah; Hosseinzadeh, Shahin

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Nanostructured CuO–ZnO–Al 2 O 3 /HZSM-5 catalyst has been prepared by an ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation hybrid method. Effect of power and irradiation time have been studied by changing the time (30–45–60 min) and power of sonication (50–100–150 W) during the synthesis which lead to different physiochemical properties of the catalyst. The XRD, FESEM, EDX, FTIR and BET analyses exhibited smaller particles with higher surface area and less population of particle aggregates at longer and highly irradiated catalysts. Study on the performance of investigated catalysts in direct synthesis of DME from syngas showed ultrasound-assisted co-precipitated synthesized catalysts have superior reactivity and stability compared with non-sonicated catalyst. Among sonicated catalysts, with increasing power and time of irradiation, the catalyst represents higher activity and DME selectivity. - Highlights: • Synthesis of CuO–ZnO–Al 2 O 3 /HZSM-5 by ultrasound assisted co-precipitation method. • Significant changes in morphology and surface area after ultrasound irradiations. • Smaller dispersed particle aggregates in longer and more intense irradiated catalysts. • Improvement in reactivity and stability of the longer and more intense ultrasound irradiated CZAZ catalyst. - Abstract: Nanostructured CuO–ZnO–Al 2 O 3 /HZSM-5 catalyst has been prepared by an ultrasound-assisted co-precipitation hybrid method. The effect of irradiation power and irradiation time have been studied by changing time (30, 45, 60 min) and power of the sonication (50, 100, 150 W) during the synthesis which led to different physiochemical properties of the nanocatalyst. The XRD, FESEM, EDX, FTIR and BET analyses exhibited smaller particles with higher surface area and less population of particle aggregates at longer and highly irradiated nanocatalysts. The nanocatalyst irradiated at 150 W for 60 min (the longest irradiation time and the most intense power

  18. Postharvest Ultrasound-Assisted Freeze-Thaw Pretreatment Improves the Drying Efficiency, Physicochemical Properties, and Macamide Biosynthesis of Maca (Lepidium meyenii).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jin-Jin; Gong, Peng-Fei; Liu, Yi-Lan; Liu, Bo-Yan; Eggert, Dawn; Guo, Yuan-Heng; Zhao, Ming-Xia; Zhao, Qing-Sheng; Zhao, Bing

    2018-04-01

    A novel technique of ultrasound-assisted freeze-thaw pretreatment (UFP) was developed to improve the drying efficiency of maca and bioactive amide synthesis in maca. The optimal UFP conditions are ultrasonic processing 90 min at 30 °C with 6 freeze-thaw cycles. Samples with freeze-thaw pretreatment (FP), ultrasound pretreatment (UP), and UFP were prepared for further comparative study. A no pretreatment (NP) sample was included as a control. The results showed that UFP improved the drying efficiency of maca slices, showing the highest effective moisture diffusivity (1.75 × 10 -9 m 2 /s). This result was further supported by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The rehydration capacity and protein content of maca slices were improved by UFP. More importantly, contents of bioactive macamides and their biosynthetic precursors were increased in 2.5- and 10-fold, respectively. In conclusion, UFP is an efficient technique to improve drying efficiency, physicochemical properties, and bioactive macamides of maca, which can be applied in the industrial manufacture of maca products. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  19. Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Natural Antioxidants from Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa L.) Peel Using Response Surface Methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Gui-Fang; Xu, Dong-Ping; Li, Sha; Li, Hua-Bin

    2015-11-17

    Sugar apple (Annona squamosa L.) is a popular tropical fruit and its peel is a municipal waste. An ultrasound-assisted extraction method was developed for the recovery of natural antioxidants from sugar apple peel. Central composite design was used to optimize solvent concentration (13.2%-46.8%), ultrasonic time (33.2-66.8 min), and temperature (43.2-76.8 °C) for the recovery of natural antioxidants from sugar apple peel. The second-order polynomial models demonstrated a good fit of the quadratic models with the experimental results in respect to total phenolic content (TPC, R²=0.9524, pextraction conditions were 20:1 (mL/g) of solvent-to-solid ratio, 32.68% acetone, and 67.23 °C for 42.54 min under ultrasonic irradiation. Under these conditions, the maximal yield of total phenolic content was 26.81 (mg GA/g FW). The experimental results obtained under optimal conditions agreed well with the predicted results. The application of ultrasound markedly decreased extraction time and improved the extraction efficiency, compared with the conventional methods.

  20. Ultrasound-Assisted Enantioselective Esterification of Ibuprofen Catalyzed by a Flower-Like Nanobioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baiyi An

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available A flower-like nanobioreactor was prepared for resolution of ibuprofen in organic solvents. Ultrasound irradiation has been used to improve the enzyme performance of APE1547 (a thermophilic esterase from the archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1 in the enantioselective esterification. Under optimum reaction conditions (ultrasound power, 225 W; temperature, 45 °C; water activity, 0.21, the immobilized APE1547 showed an excellent catalytic performance (enzyme activity, 13.26 μmol/h/mg; E value, 147.1. After ten repeated reaction batches, the nanobioreactor retained almost 100% of its initial enzyme activity and enantioselectivity. These results indicated that the combination of the immobilization method and ultrasound irradiation can enhance the enzyme performance dramatically.

  1. Ultrasound probe and needle-guide calibration for robotic ultrasound scanning and needle targeting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Chunwoo; Chang, Doyoung; Petrisor, Doru; Chirikjian, Gregory; Han, Misop; Stoianovici, Dan

    2013-06-01

    Image-to-robot registration is a typical step for robotic image-guided interventions. If the imaging device uses a portable imaging probe that is held by a robot, this registration is constant and has been commonly named probe calibration. The same applies to probes tracked by a position measurement device. We report a calibration method for 2-D ultrasound probes using robotic manipulation and a planar calibration rig. Moreover, a needle guide that is attached to the probe is also calibrated for ultrasound-guided needle targeting. The method is applied to a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) probe for robot-assisted prostate biopsy. Validation experiments include TRUS-guided needle targeting accuracy tests. This paper outlines the entire process from the calibration to image-guided targeting. Freehand TRUS-guided prostate biopsy is the primary method of diagnosing prostate cancer, with over 1.2 million procedures performed annually in the U.S. alone. However, freehand biopsy is a highly challenging procedure with subjective quality control. As such, biopsy devices are emerging to assist the physician. Here, we present a method that uses robotic TRUS manipulation. A 2-D TRUS probe is supported by a 4-degree-of-freedom robot. The robot performs ultrasound scanning, enabling 3-D reconstructions. Based on the images, the robot orients a needle guide on target for biopsy. The biopsy is acquired manually through the guide. In vitro tests showed that the 3-D images were geometrically accurate, and an image-based needle targeting accuracy was 1.55 mm. These validate the probe calibration presented and the overall robotic system for needle targeting. Targeting accuracy is sufficient for targeting small, clinically significant prostatic cancer lesions, but actual in vivo targeting will include additional error components that will have to be determined.

  2. Recovery and purification of cholesterol from cholesterol-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex using ultrasound-assisted extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yong; Chen, Youliang; Li, Hua

    2017-01-01

    Response surface methodology was used to optimize ultrasound-assisted ethanol extraction (UAE) of cholesterol from cholesterol-β-cyclodextrin (C-β-CD) inclusion complex prepared from duck yolk oil. The best extraction conditions were solvent-solid ratio 10mL/g, ultrasonic power 251W, extraction temperature 56°C and sonication time 36min. Under these conditions, the highest cholesterol extraction yield and cholesterol content obtained 98.12±0.25% and 43.38±0.61mg/g inclusion complex, respectively. As compared with Reflux extraction and Soxhlet extraction, the UAE was more efficient and economical. To increase the purity of crude cholesterol extraction, silica gel column chromatography and crystallization were carried out. Finally, cholesterol was obtained at 95.1% purity, 71.7% recovery and 22.0% yield. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic compounds, antioxidants, and anthocyanins from grape (Vitis vinifera) seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghafoor, Kashif; Choi, Yong Hee; Jeon, Ju Yeong; Jo, In Hee

    2009-06-10

    Important functional components from Campbell Early grape seed were extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) technology. The experiments were carried out according to a five level, three variable central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The best possible combinations of ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, and extraction time with the application of ultrasound were obtained for the maximum extraction of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activities, and anthocyanins from grape seed by using response surface methodology (RSM). Process variables had significant effect on the extraction of functional components with extraction time being highly significant for the extraction of phenolics and antioxidants. The optimal conditions obtained by RSM for UAE from grape seed include 53.15% ethanol, 56.03 degrees C temperature, and 29.03 min time for the maximum total phenolic compounds (5.44 mg GAE/100 mL); 53.06% ethanol, 60.65 degrees C temperature, and 30.58 min time for the maximum antioxidant activity (12.31 mg/mL); and 52.35% ethanol, 55.13 degrees C temperature, and 29.49 min time for the maximum total anthocyanins (2.28 mg/mL). Under the above-mentioned conditions, the experimental total phenolics were 5.41 mg GAE/100 mL, antioxidant activity was 12.28 mg/mL, and total anthocyanins were 2.29 mg/mL of the grape seed extract, which is well matched with the predicted values.

  4. Solubilization of bovine gelatin using power ultrasound: gelation without heating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farahnaky, Asgar; Zendeboodi, Fatemeh; Azizi, Rezvan; Mesbahi, Gholamreza; Majzoobi, Mahsa

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of power ultrasound without using any heating stage in solubilizeing gelatin dispersions, and to characterize the mechanical and microstructural properties of the resulting gels using texture analysis and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Usually to prepare a gel from gelatin, a primary heating stage of at about 40C or above is required to solubilize gelatin macromolecules. In this study solubilizing gelatin dispersions using power ultrasound without any heating was successfully performed. For solubilising gelatin, an ultrasound equipment with a frequency of 20 kHz, amplitude of 100% and power range of 50-150 W was used. Aqueous gelatin dispersions (4% w/v) were subjected to ultrasound for different times (40-240 s) at a constant temperature of 13C. Applying ultrasound to gelatin dispersions caused increases in water absorption and water solubility of the hydrocolloid. The textural parameters of the resulting gelatin gels, increased with increasing time and power of ultrasound. Moreover, a generalized Maxwell model with three elements was used for calculating relaxation times of the gels. The microstructural observations by SEM showed that the structural cohesiveness of the gels increased by increasing ultrasonication time. Ultrasound-assisted solubilization of gelatin can have emerging implications for industrial uses in pharmaceuticals, food and non-food systems. Usually to prepare a gel from gelatin, a primary heating stage of at about 40C or above is required to solubilize gelatin macromolecules. Therefore, the use of gelatin as a hydrocolloid in food processings or pharmaceutical formulations which lack a heating step has been a technological and practical challenge. In this study solubilizing gelatin dispersions using power ultrasound without any heating was successfully performed. Ultrasound-assisted solubilisation of gelatin can have emerging implications for industrial uses in pharmaceuticals

  5. Enhanced Removal of Pb+2 from Wastewater Using Combination of Ultrasound and nZVI Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mirroozbeh jamei

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This research reported a new method of removal of Pb+2from water by using a nano zero valent iron (nZVI assisted ultrasonic wave. At first, nZVI was synthesized by an ultrasound assisted method. Particles morphology and surface composition were characterized by FESEM, XRD, and EDX. The XRD patterns showed that the crystallinity of the nZVI prepared using ultrasonic conditions was higher than the conventional method. According to the EDX pattern, 67% of particle composition was nZVI. The synthesized nanoparticles were then utilized as a Fenton-like catalyst for the removal of Pb+2from water using an ultrasound assisted method. In the present study, ultrasound power, temperature effects, nZVI, and reaction time were optimized. From the studies, it has been observed that removal does not increase indefinitely with an increase in ultrasound power, but it instead reaches an optimum value and decreases with a further increase in the ultrasound power. The removal of Pb+2increased with increasing temperature, nZVI, and H2O2 concentration. The result indicated that the efficiency of hydrocarbon removal by this novel method was 97.87%.

  6. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of polyphenols from Thymus serpyllum and its antioxidant activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovanović Aleksandra A.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study was designed to establish and optimize a method for extracting natural bioactive compounds from Thymus serpyllum which possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, antispasmotic and stimulant properties. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE is a well-established method in the processing of plant material, particularly for extraction of bioactive substances such as polyphenols. The influential factors including extraction time (3, 7 and 10 minutes, solid:solvent ratio (1:10, 1:20 and 1:30 and particle size (0.3, 0.7 and 1.5 mm, have been studied to optimize the extraction process, while using 30% ethanol as an extraction medium and amplitude set to 65%. The yield of UAE was expressed via total phenol content and antioxidant activity of the obtained extracts. The optimum process paremeters were found to be: extraction time, 3 min; solid:solvent ratio, 1:30; particle size, 0.3 mm. Under these conditions, the yield of total polyphenols was raised up to 23.03 mg/L GA and the highest antioxidant activity was recorded (10.32 mmol/mg Trolox and IC50 3.00 mg/ml. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 46010 i br. 46013

  7. Inhibition of prostate cancer growth using doxorubicin assisted by ultrasound-targeted nanobubble destruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan X

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Xiaozhou Fan,1,* Luofu Wang,2,* Yanli Guo,1 Xingyu Xiong,1 Lianhua Zhu,1 Kejing Fang1 1Department of Ultrasound, Southwest Hospital, 2Department of Urology, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Ultrasound (US-targeted microbubble destruction has been widely used as an effective drug-delivery system. However, nanobubbles (NBs have better stability and stronger penetration than microbubbles, and drug delivery assisted by US-targeted NB destruction (UTND still needs to be investigated. Our aim was to investigate the effect of doxorubicin (DOX on the inhibition of prostate cancer growth under UTND. Contrast-enhanced US imaging of transplanted PC3 prostate cancer in mice showed that under a combination of 1 W/cm2 US power and a 100 Hz intermittent pulse with a “5 seconds on, 5 seconds off” mode, NBs with an average size of (485.7±33 nm were effectively destroyed within 15 minutes in the tumor location. PC3 cells and 20 tumor-bearing mice were divided into four groups: a DOX group, a DOX + NB group, a DOX + US group, and a DOX + NB + US group. The cell growth-inhibition rate and DOX concentration of xenografts in the DOX + NB + US group were highest. Based on another control group and these four groups, another 25 tumor-bearing mice were used to observe the treatment effect of nine DOX injections under UTND. The xenografts in the DOX + NB + US group decreased more obviously and had more cellular apoptosis than other groups. Finally, electron microscopy was used to estimate the cavitation effect of NBs under US irradiation in the control group, NB group, US group, and NB + US group. The results of scanning electron microscopy showed that PC3 cells in the DOX + NB + US group had more holes and significantly increased cell-surface folds. Meanwhile, transmission electric microscopy confirmed that more lanthanum nitrate particles entered

  8. Does Ultrasound-Guided Directional Vacuum-Assisted Removal Help Eliminate Abnormal Nipple Discharge in Patients with Benign Intraductal Single Mass?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Jung Min; Cho, Na Ri Ya; Moon, Woo Kyung [Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Jeong Seon [Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Chung, Se Yeong [Seoul National University Boramae Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jang, Mi Jung [Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

    2009-12-15

    To evaluate whether the removal of an intraductal mass using an ultrasound (US)-guided directional vacuum-assisted device can eliminate symptoms in patients presenting with abnormal nipple discharge. Between March 2004 and October 2006, 36 patients who presented with abnormal nipple discharge, underwent US-guided, 11-gauge vacuum-assisted biopsy for a benign intraductal single mass on US. The ability of the procedure to eliminate nipple discharge was evaluated by physical examination during follow-up US. Lesion characteristics, biopsy variables, and histologic features were analyzed to identify factors affecting symptom resolution. Of the 36 lesions, 25 (69%) were intraductal papillomas, 10 (28%) were fibrocystic changes, and one (3%) was a fibroadenoma. The nipple discharge disappeared in 69% (25 of 36) of the women at a mean follow-up time of 25 months (range 12-42 month). There was no difference in the lesion characteristics, biopsy variables, and the histologic features between groups that eliminated the symptom compared those with persistent nipple discharge. US-guided directional vacuum-assisted removal of an intraductal mass appears to eliminate nipple discharge in only 69% of patients and thus, it should not be considered as an alternative to surgical excision.

  9. Ultrasound Assisted Esterification of Rubber Seed Oil for Biodiesel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W Widayat

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Production of biodiesel is currently shifting from the first to the second generation inwhich the raw materials are mostly from non-edible type oils and fats. Biodiesel production iscommonly conducted under batch operation using mechanical agitation to accelerate masstransfers. The main drawback of oil esterification is the high content of free fatty acids (FFA whichmay reduce the yield of biodiesel and prolong the production time (2-5 hours. Ultrasonificationhas been used in many applications such as component extraction due to its ability to producecavitation under certain frequency. This research is aimed to facilitate ultrasound system forimproving biodiesel production process particularly rubber seed oil. An ultrasound unit was usedunder constant temperature (40oC and frequency of 40 Hz. The result showed that ultrasound canreduces the processing time and increases the biodiesel yield significantly. A model to describecorrelation of yield and its independent variables is yield (Y = 43,4894 – 0,6926 X1 + 1,1807 X2 –7,1042 X3 + 2,6451 X1X2 – 1,6557 X1X3 + 5,7586 X2X3 - 10,5145 X1X2X3, where X1 is mesh sizes, X2ratio oil: methanol and X3 type of catalyst.

  10. Ultrasound-assisted enzymatic extraction and antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hao; Zhu, Junxiang; Diao, Wenchao; Wang, Chengrong

    2014-11-26

    An efficient ultrasound-assisted enzymatic extraction (UAEE) of Cucurbita moschata polysaccharides (CMCP) was established and the CMCP antioxidant activities were studied. The UAEE operating parameters (extraction temperature, ultrasonic power, pH, and liquid-to-material ratio) were optimized using the central composite design (CCD) and the mass transfer kinetic study in UAEE procedure was used to select the optimal extraction time. Enzymolysis and ultrasonication that were simultaneously conducted was selected as the UAEE synergistic model and the optimum extraction conditions with a maximum polysaccharide yield of 4.33 ± 0.15% were as follows: extraction temperature, 51.5 °C; ultrasonic power, 440 W; pH, 5.0; liquid-to-material ratio, 5.70:1 mL/g; and extraction time, 20 min. Evaluation of the antioxidant activity in vitro suggested that CMCP has good potential as a natural antioxidant used in the food or medicine industry because of their high reducing power and positive radical scavenging activity for DPPH radical. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Ultrasound- and MRI-Guided Prostate Biopsy

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... assistance of a nurse and an MR imaging technologist. As with the ultrasound procedure, you may receive antibiotics, sedatives and pain medication before the biopsy. The MRI-guided procedure may use contrast ... A nurse or technologist will insert an intravenous (IV) catheter into a ...

  12. The role of ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted removal of gynecomastia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, You Me [Dankook University Hospital, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

    2008-02-15

    To evaluate the role of performing ultrasound (US)-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsies for the treatment (mammotome excision) of gynecomastia. Between November 2005 and December 2006, nine male patients underwent US-guided mammotome excision for eleven cases of true gynecomastia. The patient ages ranged from 14 to 55 years (mean age, 32.3 years). US-guided mammotome excision was performed with an 11-gauge needle in seven cases and an 8-gauge needle in four cases. After the procedure, the cigarette method using gauze packing was performed. The number of samples, procedure time and presence of complications were evaluated. Scheduled follow-up physical and US examinations were performed after three and six months. For 11 cases of US-guided mammotome excision of gynecomastia, the number of samples ranged from 12-126 (mean, 66) and the procedure time ranged from 10-42 minutes (mean time, 25.1 minutes). Clinical significant complications did not occur immediately after the procedure and complications were not seen after a follow-up examination in any of the cases. At the 3-and 6-month follow up examinations, all of the patients showed a normal male physical appearance on a physical examination and there was no evidence of hypoechoic glandular tissues as seen on ultrasonograms. US-guided mammotome excision is effective for the treatment of small, glandular true gynecomastia and is suggested as a new modality to replace the need for surgery or liposuction.

  13. Intraoperative ultrasound-assisted enucleation of residual fibroids following laparoscopic myomectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Yan; Li, Si-Jing; Zheng, Ping; Wu, Xia; Sheng, Jie; Yuan, Dong-Lan; Zhou, Qi; Wei, Wei; Duan, Ai-Hong; Wu, Qing-Qing; Lu, Dan

    2018-05-25

    To investigate if intraoperative ultrasounds by laparoscopic and transvaginal ultrasonography (LUS and TVS) could improve enucleating the residual fibroids following laparoscopic myomectomy (LM). From March to December 2016, 78 women with uterine fibroids underwent LM, LUS and TVS were applied to detect residual fibroids and to guide surgeons to enucleate them after the visible fibroids were removed during LM operation. The total number of residual fibroids found by LUS was 140, and the total number found by TVS was 127 following LM (P = 0.03). LUS is statistically superior to TVS in the detection of residual fibroids in the anterior wall (P = 0.004), in the detection of intramural fibroids (P = 0.002), and in the detection of fibroids with a diameter ranging from 0.5 to 1 cm (P = 0.002). According to the total number of enucleated fibroids by LM, patients were divided into three groups (Group 1: 2 to 4, Group 2: 5 to 7 and Group 3: ≥8 fibroid counts). The percentages of patients in each group with residual fibroids at the end of surgery were 22.2%, 51.9% and 66.7% respectively. Both LUS and TVS are beneficial to surgical treatment of fibroids by assisting enucleation of residual fibroids following LM, while LUS is more effective in localizing residual fibroids than TVS. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Ultrasound assisted chrome tanning: Towards a clean leather production technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mengistie, Embialle; Smets, Ilse; Van Gerven, Tom

    2016-09-01

    Nowadays, there is a growing demand for a cleaner, but still effective alternative for production processes like in the leather industry. Ultrasound (US) assisted processing of leather might be promising in this sense. In the present paper, the use of US in the conventional chrome tanning process has been studied at different pH, temperature, tanning time, chrome dose and US exposure time by exposing the skin before tanning and during tanning operation. Both prior exposure of the skin to US and US during tanning improves the chrome uptake and reduces the shrinkage significantly. Prior exposure of the skin to US increase the chrome uptake by 13.8% or reduces the chrome dose from 8% to 5% (% based on skin weight) and shorten the process time by half while US during tanning increases the chrome uptake by 28.5% or reduces the chrome dose from 8% to 4% (half) and the tanning time to one third compared to the control without US. Concomitantly, the resulting leather quality (measured as skin shrinkage) improved from 5.2% to 3.2% shrinkage in the skin exposed to US prior tanning and to 1.3% in the skin exposed to US during the tanning experiment. This study confirms that US chrome tanning is an effective and eco-friendly tanning process which can produce a better quality leather product in a shorter process time with a lower chromium dose. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Computer-assisted assessment of ultrasound real-time elastography: initial experience in 145 breast lesions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xue; Xiao, Yang; Zeng, Jie; Qiu, Weibao; Qian, Ming; Wang, Congzhi; Zheng, Rongqin; Zheng, Hairong

    2014-01-01

    To develop and evaluate a computer-assisted method of quantifying five-point elasticity scoring system based on ultrasound real-time elastography (RTE), for classifying benign and malignant breast lesions, with pathologic results as the reference standard. Conventional ultrasonography (US) and RTE images of 145 breast lesions (67 malignant, 78 benign) were performed in this study. Each lesion was automatically contoured on the B-mode image by the level set method and mapped on the RTE image. The relative elasticity value of each pixel was reconstructed and classified into hard or soft by the fuzzy c-means clustering method. According to the hardness degree inside lesion and its surrounding tissue, the elasticity score of the RTE image was computed in an automatic way. Visual assessments of the radiologists were used for comparing the diagnostic performance. Histopathologic examination was used as the reference standard. The Student's t test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed for statistical analysis. Considering score 4 or higher as test positive for malignancy, the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 93.8% (136/145), 92.5% (62/67), 94.9% (74/78), 93.9% (62/66), and 93.7% (74/79) for the computer-assisted scheme, and 89.7% (130/145), 85.1% (57/67), 93.6% (73/78), 92.0% (57/62), and 88.0% (73/83) for manual assessment. Area under ROC curve (Az value) for the proposed method was higher than the Az value for visual assessment (0.96 vs. 0.93). Computer-assisted quantification of classical five-point scoring system can significantly eliminate the interobserver variability and thereby improve the diagnostic confidence of classifying the breast lesions to avoid unnecessary biopsy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Computer-assisted assessment of ultrasound real-time elastography: Initial experience in 145 breast lesions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xue; Xiao, Yang [Shenzhen Key Lab for Molecular Imaging, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen (China); Zeng, Jie [Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou (China); Qiu, Weibao; Qian, Ming; Wang, Congzhi [Shenzhen Key Lab for Molecular Imaging, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen (China); Zheng, Rongqin, E-mail: zhengronggin@hotmail.com [Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou (China); Zheng, Hairong, E-mail: hr.zheng@siat.ac.cn [Shenzhen Key Lab for Molecular Imaging, Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen (China)

    2014-01-15

    Purpose: To develop and evaluate a computer-assisted method of quantifying five-point elasticity scoring system based on ultrasound real-time elastography (RTE), for classifying benign and malignant breast lesions, with pathologic results as the reference standard. Materials and methods: Conventional ultrasonography (US) and RTE images of 145 breast lesions (67 malignant, 78 benign) were performed in this study. Each lesion was automatically contoured on the B-mode image by the level set method and mapped on the RTE image. The relative elasticity value of each pixel was reconstructed and classified into hard or soft by the fuzzy c-means clustering method. According to the hardness degree inside lesion and its surrounding tissue, the elasticity score of the RTE image was computed in an automatic way. Visual assessments of the radiologists were used for comparing the diagnostic performance. Histopathologic examination was used as the reference standard. The Student's t test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed for statistical analysis. Results: Considering score 4 or higher as test positive for malignancy, the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 93.8% (136/145), 92.5% (62/67), 94.9% (74/78), 93.9% (62/66), and 93.7% (74/79) for the computer-assisted scheme, and 89.7% (130/145), 85.1% (57/67), 93.6% (73/78), 92.0% (57/62), and 88.0% (73/83) for manual assessment. Area under ROC curve (A{sub z} value) for the proposed method was higher than the A{sub z} value for visual assessment (0.96 vs. 0.93). Conclusion: Computer-assisted quantification of classical five-point scoring system can significantly eliminate the interobserver variability and thereby improve the diagnostic confidence of classifying the breast lesions to avoid unnecessary biopsy.

  17. VUV photo-oxidation of gaseous benzene combined with ozone-assisted catalytic oxidation: Effect on transition metal catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Haibao; Lu, Haoxian; Zhan, Yujie; Liu, Gaoyuan; Feng, Qiuyu; Huang, Huiling; Wu, Muyan; Ye, Xinguo

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Mn nanoparticles are highly dispersed on ZSM-5 and most efficient in benzene degradation in the VUV-OZCO process. - Highlights: • Vacuum UV irradiation is well combined with O_3 catalytic oxidation. • O_3 byproducts was used to enhance catalytic oxidation of VOCs. • Mn/ZSM-5 achieved the best catalytic activity for benzene degradation. - Abstract: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) cause the major air pollution concern. In this study, a series of ZSM-5 supported transition metals were prepared by impregnation method. They were combined with vacuum UV (VUV) photo-oxidation in a continuous-flow packed-bed reactor and used for the degradation of benzene, a typical toxic VOCs. Compared with VUV photo-oxidation alone, the introduction of catalysts can greatly enhance benzene oxidation under the help of O_3, the by-products from VUV irradiation, via ozone-assisted catalytic oxidation (OZCO). The catalytic activity of transition metals towards benzene oxidation followed the order: Mn > Co > Cu > Ni > Fe. Mn achieved the best catalytic activity due to the strongest capability for O_3 catalytic decomposition and utilization. Benzene and O_3 removal efficiency reached as high as 97% and 100% after 360 min, respectively. O_3 was catalytically decomposed, generating highly reactive oxidants such as ·OH and ·O for benzene oxidation.

  18. VUV photo-oxidation of gaseous benzene combined with ozone-assisted catalytic oxidation: Effect on transition metal catalyst

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Haibao, E-mail: seabao8@gmail.com [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University (China); Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology (Sun Yat-sen University) (China); Lu, Haoxian; Zhan, Yujie; Liu, Gaoyuan; Feng, Qiuyu; Huang, Huiling; Wu, Muyan; Ye, Xinguo [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University (China)

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Mn nanoparticles are highly dispersed on ZSM-5 and most efficient in benzene degradation in the VUV-OZCO process. - Highlights: • Vacuum UV irradiation is well combined with O{sub 3} catalytic oxidation. • O{sub 3} byproducts was used to enhance catalytic oxidation of VOCs. • Mn/ZSM-5 achieved the best catalytic activity for benzene degradation. - Abstract: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) cause the major air pollution concern. In this study, a series of ZSM-5 supported transition metals were prepared by impregnation method. They were combined with vacuum UV (VUV) photo-oxidation in a continuous-flow packed-bed reactor and used for the degradation of benzene, a typical toxic VOCs. Compared with VUV photo-oxidation alone, the introduction of catalysts can greatly enhance benzene oxidation under the help of O{sub 3}, the by-products from VUV irradiation, via ozone-assisted catalytic oxidation (OZCO). The catalytic activity of transition metals towards benzene oxidation followed the order: Mn > Co > Cu > Ni > Fe. Mn achieved the best catalytic activity due to the strongest capability for O{sub 3} catalytic decomposition and utilization. Benzene and O{sub 3} removal efficiency reached as high as 97% and 100% after 360 min, respectively. O{sub 3} was catalytically decomposed, generating highly reactive oxidants such as ·OH and ·O for benzene oxidation.

  19. Simultaneous optimization of the ultrasound-assisted extraction for phenolic compounds content and antioxidant activity of Lycium ruthenicum Murr. fruit using response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shasha; Zeng, Zhi; Hu, Na; Bai, Bo; Wang, Honglun; Suo, Yourui

    2018-03-01

    Lycium ruthenicum Murr. (LR) is a functional food that plays an important role in anti-oxidation due to its high level of phenolic compounds. This study aims to optimize ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of obtained extracts from LR using response surface methodology (RSM). A four-factor-three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to discuss the following extracting parameters: extraction time (X 1 ), ultrasonic power (X 2 ), solvent to sample ratio (X 3 ) and solvent concentration (X 4 ). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results revealed that the solvent to sample ratio had a significant influence on all responses, while the extraction time had no statistically significant effect on phenolic compounds. The optimum values of the combination of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities were obtained for X 1 =30min, X 2 =100W, X 3 =40mL/g, and X 4 =33% (v/v). Five phenolic acids, including chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid, were analyzed by HPLC. Our results indicated that optimization extraction is vital for the quantification of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in LR, which may be contributed to large-scale industrial applications and future pharmacological activities research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Simple method for the determination of personal care product ingredients in lettuce by ultrasound-assisted extraction combined with solid-phase microextraction followed by GC-MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabrera-Peralta, Jerónimo; Peña-Alvarez, Araceli

    2018-05-01

    A simple method for the simultaneous determination of personal care product ingredients: galaxolide, tonalide, oxybenzone, 4-methylbenzyliden camphor, padimate-o, 2-ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, triclosan, and methyl triclosan in lettuce by ultrasound-assisted extraction combined with solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was developed. Lettuce was directly extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction with methanol, this extract was combined with water, extracted by solid-phase microextraction in immersion mode, and analyzed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Good linear relationships (25-250 ng/g, R 2  > 0.9702) and low detection limits (1.0-25 ng/g) were obtained for analytes along with acceptable precision for almost all analytes (RSDs < 20%). The validated method was applied for the determination of personal care product ingredients in commercial lettuce and lettuces grown in soil and irrigated with the analytes, identifying the target analytes in leaves and roots of the latter. This procedure is a miniaturized and environmentally friendly proposal which can be a useful tool for quality analysis in lettuce. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Uranium oxide nanocrystals by microwave-assisted thermal decomposition. Electronic and structural properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leduc, Jennifer; Mathur, Sanjay [Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Cologne (Germany); Pacold, Joseph I.; Shuh, David K. [Chemical Sciences Division, The Glenn T. Seaborg Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States); Dong, Chung-Li [Department of Physics, Tamkang University, Tamsui, Taiwan (China)

    2018-01-17

    Uranium oxides have attracted much attention not only in the context of nuclear energy generation but also for their application as pristine catalysts or as supports for other (transition metal) oxides and (precious) metals. Their propensity to adopt high coordination numbers and manifest multiple oxidation states (from +II to +VI) makes them attractive candidates for catalyzed transformation reactions. Herein, we report a new synthesis route to phase-pure, crystalline UO{sub 2} nanoparticles via microwave-assisted decomposition of a molecular uranium(IV) precursor. The electronic structure and optical absorption properties of these nanocrystals were investigated using spectroscopic methods to evaluate their suitability for photo(electro)catalytic applications. (copyright 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  2. Uranium oxide nanocrystals by microwave-assisted thermal decomposition. Electronic and structural properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leduc, Jennifer; Mathur, Sanjay; Pacold, Joseph I.; Shuh, David K.; Dong, Chung-Li

    2018-01-01

    Uranium oxides have attracted much attention not only in the context of nuclear energy generation but also for their application as pristine catalysts or as supports for other (transition metal) oxides and (precious) metals. Their propensity to adopt high coordination numbers and manifest multiple oxidation states (from +II to +VI) makes them attractive candidates for catalyzed transformation reactions. Herein, we report a new synthesis route to phase-pure, crystalline UO 2 nanoparticles via microwave-assisted decomposition of a molecular uranium(IV) precursor. The electronic structure and optical absorption properties of these nanocrystals were investigated using spectroscopic methods to evaluate their suitability for photo(electro)catalytic applications. (copyright 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  3. Ultrasound Assisted Esterification of Rubber Seed Oil for Biodiesel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berkah Fajar Tamtomo Kiono

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available roduction of biodiesel is currently shifting from the first to the second generation in which the raw materials are mostly from non-edible type oils and fats. Biodiesel production is commonly conducted under batch operation using mechanical agitation to accelerate mass transfers. The main drawback of oil esterification is the high content of free fatty acids (FFA which may reduce the yield of biodiesel and prolong the production time (2-5 hours. Ultrasonification has been used in many applications such as component extraction due to its ability to produce cavitation under certain frequency. This research is aimed to facilitate ultrasound system for improving biodiesel production process particularly rubber seed oil. An ultrasound unit was used under constant temperature (40oC and frequency of 40 Hz. The result showed that ultrasound can reduces the processing time and increases the biodiesel yield significantly. A model to describe correlation of yield and its independent variables is yield (Y = 43,4894 – 0,6926 X1 + 1,1807 X2 – 7,1042 X3 + 2,6451 X1X2 – 1,6557 X1X3 + 5,7586 X2X3 - 10,5145 X1X2X3, where X1 is mesh sizes, X2 ratio oil: methanol and X3 type of catalyst.

  4. Ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane blocks for patients undergoing laparoscopic hand-assisted nephrectomy: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aniskevich S

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Stephen Aniskevich,1 C Burcin Taner,2 Dana K Perry,2 Christopher B Robards,3 Steven B Porter,3 Colleen S Thomas,4 Ilana I Logvinov,5 Steven R Clendenen41Department of Anesthesia, Division of Transplant Anesthesia, 2Department of Transplantation, 3Department of Anesthesia, Division of Regional Anesthesia, 4Division of Health Sciences Research, Section of Biostatistics, 5Department of Anesthesia, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USAAbstract: Postoperative pain is a common complaint following living kidney donation or tumor resection using the laparoscopic hand-assisted technique. To evaluate the potential analgesic benefit of transversus abdominis plane blocks, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 21 patients scheduled to undergo elective living-donor nephrectomy or single-sided nephrectomy for tumor. Patients were randomized to receive either 20 mL of 0.5% ropivacaine or 20 mL of 0.9% saline bilaterally to the transversus abdominis plane under ultrasound guidance. We found that transversus abdominis plane blocks reduced overall pain scores at 24 hours, with a trend toward decreased total morphine consumption. Nausea, vomiting, sedation, and time to discharge were not significantly different between the two study groups.Keywords: transversus abdominis plane block, nephrectomy, kidney donor, ultrasound guidance

  5. Application of power ultrasound on the convective drying of fruits and vegetables: effects on quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, Óscar; Eim, Valeria; Rosselló, Carmen; Femenia, Antoni; Cárcel, Juan A; Simal, Susana

    2018-03-01

    Drying gives rise to products with a long shelf life by reducing the water activity to a level that is sufficiently low to inhibit the growth of microorganisms, enzymatic reactions and other deteriorative reactions. Despite the benefits of this operation, the quality of heat sensitive products is diminished when high temperatures are used. The use of low drying temperatures reduces the heat damage but, because of a longer drying time, oxidation reactions occur and a reduction of the quality is also observed. Thus, drying is a method that lends itself to being intensified. For this reason, alternative techniques are being studied. Power ultrasound is considered as an emerging and promising technology in the food industry. The potential of this technology relies on its ability to accelerate the mass transfer processes in solid-liquid and solid-gas systems. Intensification of the drying process with power ultrasound can be achieved by modifying the product behavior during drying, using pre-treatments such as soaking in a liquid medium assisted acoustically or, during the drying process itself, by applying power ultrasound in the gaseous medium. This review summarises the effects of the application of the power ultrasound on the quality of different dried products, such as fruits and vegetables, when the acoustic energy is intended to intensify the drying process, either when the application is performed before pretreatment or during the drying process. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  6. Advanced ultrasound applications in the assessment of renal transplants: contrast-enhanced ultrasound, elastography, and B-flow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Tara A; Jha, Priyanka; Poder, Liina; Weinstein, Stefanie

    2018-04-09

    Ultrasound is routinely used as the first imaging exam for evaluation of renal transplants and can identify most major surgical complications and evaluate vascularity with color Doppler. Ultrasound is limited, however, in the detection of parenchymal disease processes and Doppler evaluation is also prone to technical errors. Multiple new ultrasound applications have been developed and are under ongoing investigation which could add additional diagnostic capability to the routine ultrasound exam with minimal additional time, cost, and patient risk. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can be used off-label in the transplant kidney, and can assist in detection of infection, trauma, and vascular complications. CEUS also can demonstrate perfusion of the transplant assessed quantitatively with generation of time-intensity curves. Future directions of CEUS include monitoring treatment response and microbubble targeted medication delivery. Elastography is an ultrasound application that can detect changes in tissue elasticity, which is useful to diagnose diffuse parenchymal disease, such as fibrosis, otherwise unrecognizable with ultrasound. Elastography has been successfully applied in other organs including the liver, thyroid, and breast; however, it is still under development for use in the transplant kidney. Unique properties of the transplant kidney including its heterogeneity, anatomic location, and other technical factors present challenges in the development of reference standard measurements. Lastly, B-flow imaging is a flow application derived from B-mode. This application can show the true lumen size of a vessel which is useful to depict vascular anatomy and bypasses some of the pitfalls of color Doppler such as demonstration of slow flow.

  7. Ultrasound Assisted Extraction for the Recovery of Phenolic Compounds from Vegetable Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelly Medina-Torres

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Vegetable sources and agro-industrial residues represent an important source of phenolic compounds that are useful in a wide range of applications, especially those with biological activities. Conventional techniques of phytochemical extraction have been associated with a high consumption of organic solvents that limits the application of bioactive extracts, leading to the implementation of novel extraction technologies using mechanisms such as Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE. In the present review, an analysis of the involved variables in the extraction yield of phenolic compounds through UAE is presented, highlighting the advantages of this technology based on the results obtained in various optimized studies. A comparison with other technologies and a proposal of its possible application for agro industrial residues as raw material of phenolic compounds is also indicated. Finally, it is concluded that UAE is a technology that is placed within the area of Sustainable Chemistry since it promotes the use of renewable raw materials through the extraction of phenolic compounds, implementing the substitution of organic solvents with solvents that do not present toxic effects, lowering the energy consumption when compared to conventional methods and minimizing process times and temperatures, which is useful for the extraction of thermo-labile compounds.

  8. High-frequency ultrasound-responsive block copolymer micelle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jie; Pelletier, Maxime; Zhang, Hongji; Xia, Hesheng; Zhao, Yue

    2009-11-17

    Micelles of a diblock copolymer composed of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(2-tetrahydropyranyl methacrylate) (PEO-b-PTHPMA) in aqueous solution could be disrupted by high-frequency ultrasound (1.1 MHz). It was found that, upon exposure to a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) beam at room temperature, the pH value of the micellar solution decreased over irradiation time. The infrared spectroscopic analysis of solid block copolymer samples collected from the ultrasound irradiated micellar solution revealed the formation of carboxylic acid dimers and hydroxyl groups. These characterization results suggest that the high-frequency HIFU beam could induce the hydrolysis reaction of THPMA at room temperature resulting in the cleavage of THP groups. The disruption of PEO-b-PTHPMA micelles by ultrasound was investigated by using dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. On the basis of the pH change, it was found that the disruption process was determined by a number of factors such as the ultrasound power, the micellar solution volume and the location of the focal spot of the ultrasound beam. This study shows the potential to develop ultrasound-sensitive block copolymer micelles by having labile chemical bonds in the polymer structure, and to use the high-frequency HIFU to trigger a chemical reaction for the disruption of micelles.

  9. Multichannel, time-resolved picosecond laser ultrasound imaging and spectroscopy with custom complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Richard J.; Light, Roger A.; Johnston, Nicholas S.; Pitter, Mark C.; Somekh, Mike G.; Sharples, Steve D.

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents a multichannel, time-resolved picosecond laser ultrasound system that uses a custom complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor linear array detector. This novel sensor allows parallel phase-sensitive detection of very low contrast modulated signals with performance in each channel comparable to that of a discrete photodiode and a lock-in amplifier. Application of the instrument is demonstrated by parallelizing spatial measurements to produce two-dimensional thickness maps on a layered sample, and spectroscopic parallelization is demonstrated by presenting the measured Brillouin oscillations from a gallium arsenide wafer. This paper demonstrates the significant advantages of our approach to pump probe systems, especially picosecond ultrasonics.

  10. Multichannel, time-resolved picosecond laser ultrasound imaging and spectroscopy with custom complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Richard J.; Light, Roger A.; Johnston, Nicholas S.; Pitter, Mark C.; Somekh, Mike G. [Institute of Biophysics, Imaging and Optical Science, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Sharples, Steve D. [Applied Optics Group, Electrical Systems and Optics Research Division, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG7 2RD (United Kingdom)

    2010-02-15

    This paper presents a multichannel, time-resolved picosecond laser ultrasound system that uses a custom complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor linear array detector. This novel sensor allows parallel phase-sensitive detection of very low contrast modulated signals with performance in each channel comparable to that of a discrete photodiode and a lock-in amplifier. Application of the instrument is demonstrated by parallelizing spatial measurements to produce two-dimensional thickness maps on a layered sample, and spectroscopic parallelization is demonstrated by presenting the measured Brillouin oscillations from a gallium arsenide wafer. This paper demonstrates the significant advantages of our approach to pump probe systems, especially picosecond ultrasonics.

  11. An oxidative desulfurization method using ultrasound/Fenton's reagent for obtaining low and/or ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dai, Yongchuan; Qi, Yutai [Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 115001 (China); Zhao, Dezhi [Department of Petroleum Chemical Engineering, Liaoning Shihua University, Fushun 113001 (China); Zhang, Huicheng [Fushun Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemicals of SINOPEC Corp., Fushun 113001 (China)

    2008-10-15

    The total development trend in the world is towards continuously lower of sulfur content as a quality standard of diesel fuels. Integrating of an oxidative desulfurization unit with a conventional hydrotreating unit can bring benefits to producing low and/or ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels. Using the hydrotreated Middle East diesel fuel as a feedstock, four processes of the oxidative desulfurization have been studied: a hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid system and a Fenton's reagent system both without/with ultrasound. Results showed that the oxidative desulfurization reaction mechanics fitted apparent first-order kinetics. The addition of Fenton's reagent could enhance the oxidative desulfurization efficiency for diesel fuels and sono-oxidation treatment in combination with Fenton's reagent shows a good synergistic effect. Under our best operating condition for the oxidative desulfurization: temperature 313 K, ultrasonic power 200 W, ultrasonic frequency 28 kHz, Fe{sup 2+}/H{sub 2}O{sub 2} 0.05 mol/mol, pH 2.10 in aqueous phase and reaction time 15 min, the sulfur content in the diesel fuels was decreased from 568.75 {mu}g/g to 9.50 {mu}g/g. (author)

  12. Umbilical blood flow ultrasound characteristics of perioperative fetal intrauterine hypoxia and their relationship with maternal and fetal oxidative stress injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Mei He

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To study the relationship between umbilical blood flow ultrasound characteristics of perioperative fetal intrauterine hypoxia and maternal as well as fetal oxidative stress injury. Methods: 108 puerperae giving birth in our hospital between May 2014 and October 2016 were selected and divided into normal pregnancy group with neonatal Apgar score >7 points and intrauterine hypoxia group with neonatal Apgar score ≤7 points, color Doppler diasonograph was used to determine umbilical blood flow ultrasound parameters, umbilical cord blood was collected to determine the levels of oxidative stress products, and the placenta was collected to determine the levels of oxidative stress products and related apoptosis molecules. Results: During 24–30 weeks, 31–36 weeks and 37–41 weeks of pregnancy, umbilical blood flow resistance index (RI, pulsatility index (PI and diastolic velocity/systolic velocity (S/D of intrauterine hypoxia group were significantly higher than those of normal pregnancy group (P<0.05; malondialdehyde (MDA, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox- LDL, 8-isoprostanes (8-iso, and heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70 levels in umbilical cord blood of intrauterine hypoxia group were significantly higher than those of normal pregnancy group (P<0.05, MDA, oxLDL, 8-ios, HSP-70, Fas, FasL and Bax levels in placenta tissue were significantly higher than those of normal pregnancy group (P<0.05, and Bcl-2 and XIAP levels were significantly lower than those of normal pregnancy group (P<0.05; RI, PI and S/ D were positively correlated with MDA, oxLDL, 8-ios and HSP-70 levels in umbilical cord blood and placenta tissue, positively correlated with Fas, FasL and Bax levels in placenta tissue, and negatively correlated with Bcl-2 and XIAP levels in placental tissue. Conclusions: The increased umbilical blood flow resistance and decreased flow volume of fetal intrauterine hypoxia are closely related to maternal, fetal and placental oxidative

  13. Trace determination of safranin O dye using ultrasound assisted dispersive solid-phase micro extraction: Artificial neural network-genetic algorithm and response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dil, Ebrahim Alipanahpour; Ghaedi, Mehrorang; Asfaram, Arash; Mehrabi, Fatemeh; Bazrafshan, Ali Akbar; Ghaedi, Abdol Mohammad

    2016-11-01

    In this study, ultrasound assisted dispersive solid-phase micro extraction combined with spectrophotometry (USA-DSPME-UV) method based on activated carbon modified with Fe2O3 nanoparticles (Fe2O3-NPs-AC) was developed for pre-concentration and determination of safranin O (SO). It is known that the efficiency of USA-DSPME-UV method may be affected by pH, amount of adsorbent, ultrasound time and eluent volume and the extent and magnitude of their contribution on response (in term of main and interaction part) was studied by using central composite design (CCD) and artificial neural network-genetic algorithms (ANN-GA). Accordingly by adjustment of experimental conditions suggested by ANN-GA at pH 6.5, 1.1mg of adsorbent, 10min ultrasound and 150μL of eluent volume led to achievement of best operation performance like low LOD (6.3ngmL(-1)) and LOQ (17.5ngmL(-1)) in the range of 25-3500ngmL(-1). In following stage, the SO content in real water and wastewater samples with recoveries between 93.27-99.41% with RSD lower than 3% was successfully determined. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Box-Behnken design based statistical modeling for ultrasound-assisted extraction of corn silk polysaccharide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prakash Maran, J; Manikandan, S; Thirugnanasambandham, K; Vigna Nivetha, C; Dinesh, R

    2013-01-30

    In this study, ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) conditions on the yield of polysaccharide from corn silk were studied using three factors, three level Box-Behnken response surface design. Process parameters, which affect the efficiency of UAE such as extraction temperature (40-60 °C), time (10-30 min) and solid-liquid ratio (1:10-1:30 g/ml) were investigated. The results showed that, the extraction conditions have significant effects on extraction yield of polysaccharide. The obtained experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation using multiple regression analysis with high coefficient of determination value (R(2)) of 0.994. An optimization study using Derringer's desired function methodology was performed and the optimal conditions based on both individual and combinations of all independent variables (extraction temperature of 56 °C, time of 17 min and solid-liquid ratio of 1:20 g/ml) were determined with maximum polysaccharide yield of 6.06%, which was confirmed through validation experiments. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. MLESAC Based Localization of Needle Insertion Using 2D Ultrasound Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Fei; Gao, Dedong; Wang, Shan; Zhanwen, A.

    2018-04-01

    In the 2D ultrasound image of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle insertions, it is difficult to determine the positions of needle axis and tip because of the existence of artifacts and other noises. In this work the speckle is regarded as the noise of an ultrasound image, and a novel algorithm is presented to detect the needle in a 2D ultrasound image. Firstly, the wavelet soft thresholding technique based on BayesShrink rule is used to denoise the speckle of ultrasound image. Secondly, we add Otsu’s thresholding method and morphologic operations to pre-process the ultrasound image. Finally, the localization of the needle is identified and positioned in the 2D ultrasound image based on the maximum likelihood estimation sample consensus (MLESAC) algorithm. The experimental results show that it is valid for estimating the position of needle axis and tip in the ultrasound images with the proposed algorithm. The research work is hopeful to be used in the path planning and robot-assisted needle insertion procedures.

  16. Oxide-assisted crack growth in hold-time low-cycle-fatigue of single-crystal superalloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suzuki Akane

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Compressive hold-time low-cycle fatigue is one of the important damage modes in Ni-based superalloy hot-gas path components. In strain controlled LCF, the compressive hold typically degrades fatigue life significantly due to creep relaxation and the resultant generation of tensile stress upon returning to zero strain. Crack initiation typically occurs on the surface, and therefore, the cracks are covered with layers of oxides. Recent finite element modeling based on experimental observations has indicated that the in-plane compressive stress in the alumina layer formed on the surface of the bond coat assists rumpling and, eventually, leads to initiation of cracks. The stress in the oxide layer continues to assist crack extension by pushing the alumina layer along the crack front during the compressive hold. In-situ measurements of the growth strains of alumina were performed using high energy synchrotron X-rays at Argonne National Lab. Specimens of single-crystal superalloys with and without aluminide coatings were statically pre-oxidized to form a layer of alumina at 1093 and 982 ∘C. For the in-situ synchrotron measurements, the specimens were heated up to the pre-oxidation temperatures with a heater. The alumina layers on both bare and coated specimens show compressive in-plane strains at both temperatures. The oxide strains on the superalloys showed dependency on temperature; on the other hand, the oxide strains in the aluminide coatings were insensitive to temperature. The magnitude of the compressive strains was larger on the superalloys than the ones on the aluminide coatings.

  17. Unilateral Opening of Rat Blood-Brain Barrier Assisted by Diagnostic Ultrasound Targeted Microbubbles Destruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yali; Cui, Hai; Zhu, Qiong; Hua, Xing; Xia, Hongmei; Tan, Kaibin; Gao, Yunhua; Zhao, Jing; Liu, Zheng

    2016-01-01

    Objective. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a key obstacle that prevents the medication from blood to the brain. Microbubble-enhanced cavitation by focused ultrasound can open the BBB and proves to be valuable in the brain drug delivery. The study aimed to explore the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of unilateral opening of BBB using diagnostic ultrasound targeted microbubbles destruction in rats. Methods. A transtemporal bone irradiation of diagnostic ultrasound and intravenous injection of lipid-coated microbubbles were performed at unilateral hemisphere. Pathological changes were monitored. Evans Blue extravasation grades, extraction from brain tissue, and fluorescence optical density were quantified. Lanthanum nitrate was traced by transmission electron microscopy. Results. After diagnostic ultrasound mediated microbubbles destruction, Evans Blue extravasation and fluorescence integrated optical density were significantly higher in the irradiated hemisphere than the contralateral side (all p ultrasound-exposed hemisphere (4 ± 1, grade 2) while being invisible in the control side. Lanthanum nitrate tracers leaked through interendothelial cleft and spread to the nerve fiber existed in the irradiation side. Conclusions. Transtemporal bone irradiation under DUS mediated microbubble destruction provides us with a more accessible, safer, and higher selective BBB opening approach in rats, which is advantageous in brain targeted drugs delivery.

  18. Unilateral Opening of Rat Blood-Brain Barrier Assisted by Diagnostic Ultrasound Targeted Microbubbles Destruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yali Xu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Blood-brain barrier (BBB is a key obstacle that prevents the medication from blood to the brain. Microbubble-enhanced cavitation by focused ultrasound can open the BBB and proves to be valuable in the brain drug delivery. The study aimed to explore the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of unilateral opening of BBB using diagnostic ultrasound targeted microbubbles destruction in rats. Methods. A transtemporal bone irradiation of diagnostic ultrasound and intravenous injection of lipid-coated microbubbles were performed at unilateral hemisphere. Pathological changes were monitored. Evans Blue extravasation grades, extraction from brain tissue, and fluorescence optical density were quantified. Lanthanum nitrate was traced by transmission electron microscopy. Results. After diagnostic ultrasound mediated microbubbles destruction, Evans Blue extravasation and fluorescence integrated optical density were significantly higher in the irradiated hemisphere than the contralateral side (all p<0.01. Erythrocytes extravasations were demonstrated in the ultrasound-exposed hemisphere (4±1, grade 2 while being invisible in the control side. Lanthanum nitrate tracers leaked through interendothelial cleft and spread to the nerve fiber existed in the irradiation side. Conclusions. Transtemporal bone irradiation under DUS mediated microbubble destruction provides us with a more accessible, safer, and higher selective BBB opening approach in rats, which is advantageous in brain targeted drugs delivery.

  19. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) leaves via D-optimal design and artificial neural network design with categorical and quantitative variables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciğeroğlu, Zeynep; Aras, Ömür; Pinto, Carlos A; Bayramoglu, Mahmut; Kırbaşlar, Ş İsmail; Lorenzo, José M; Barba, Francisco J; Saraiva, Jorge A; Şahin, Selin

    2018-03-06

    The extraction of phenolic compounds from grapefruit leaves assisted by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) by means of D-optimal experimental design and artificial neural network (ANN). For this purpose, five numerical factors were selected: ethanol concentration (0-50%), extraction time (15-60 min), extraction temperature (25-50 °C), solid:liquid ratio (50-100 g L -1 ) and calorimetric energy density of ultrasound (0.25-0.50 kW L -1 ), whereas ultrasound probe horn diameter (13 or 19 mm) was chosen as categorical factor. The optimized experimental conditions yielded by RSM were: 10.80% for ethanol concentration; 58.52 min for extraction time; 30.37 °C for extraction temperature; 52.33 g L -1 for solid:liquid ratio; 0.457 kW L -1 for ultrasonic power density, with thick probe type. Under these conditions total phenolics content was found to be 19.04 mg gallic acid equivalents g -1 dried leaf. The same dataset was used to train multilayer feed-forward networks using different approaches via MATLAB, with ANN exhibiting superior performance to RSM (differences included categorical factor in one model and higher regression coefficients), while close values were obtained for the extraction variables under study, except for ethanol concentration and extraction time. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

  20. Instant magnetic labeling of tumor cells by ultrasound in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mo Runyang; Yang Jian; Wu, Ed X.; Lin Shuyu

    2011-01-01

    Magnetic labeling of living cells creates opportunities for numerous biomedical applications. Here we describe an instantly cell magnetic labeling method based on ultrasound. We present a detailed study on the ultrasound performance of a simple and efficient labeling protocol for H-22 cells in vitro. High frequency focus ultrasound was investigated as an alternative method to achieve instant cell labeling with the magnetic particles without the need for adjunct agents or initiating cell cultures. Mean diameter of 168 nm dextran-T40 coated superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles were prepared by means of classical coprecipitation in solution in our laboratory. H-22 tumor cells suspended in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH=7.2) were exposed to ultrasound at 1.37 MHz for up to 120 s in the presence of SPIOs. The cellular uptake of iron oxide nanoparticles was detected by prussion blue staining. The viability of cells was determined by a trypan blue exclusion test. At 2 W power and 60 s ultrasound exposure in presence of 410 μg/ml SPIOs, H-22 cell labeling efficiency reached 69.4±6.3% and the labeled cells exhibited an iron content of 10.38±2.43 pg per cell. Furthermore, 95.2±3.2% cells remained viable. The results indicated that the ultrasound protocol could be potentially applied to label cells with large-sized magnetic particles. We also calculated the shear stress at the 2 W power and 1.37 MHz used in experiments. The results showed that the shear stress threshold for ultrasonically induced H-22 cell reparable sonoporation was 697 Pa. These findings provide a quantitative guidance in designing ultrasound protocols for cell labeling. - Highlights: → High frequency focus ultrasound can be used as a safe method for instant magnetic labeling of cells. → 8-16 times increased efficiency can be gained by ultrasound versus that by transfection agents. → Calculation of shear stress around cells provide a quantitative design for ultrasound protocols.

  1. Ultrasound-guided peripheral and truncal blocks in pediatric patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Bilal Delvi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Ultrasound has added a feather in the cap of the anesthesiologists as real-time nerve localization and drug deposition around the nerve structure under real-time guidance is now a reality, as the saying "seeing is believing" has been proven true with the advent of ultrasound in anesthesia. Pediatric patients are a unique group regarding their anatomical and physiological features in comparison with adults; regional blocks in adults with the anatomical landmark and surface marking are almost uniform across the adult population. The landmark technique in pediatric patients is not reliable in all patients due to the variability in the age and size; the advent of ultrasound in assisting nerve localization has changed the way regional blocks are achieved in children and the range of blocks performed on adults can now be performed on pediatric patients; with advances in the technology and dexterity of ultrasound equipment, the chances of success of blocks has increased with a smaller dose of the local anesthetic in comparison to the traditional methods. Anesthesiologists are now able to perform blocks with more accuracy and avoid complications like intravascular injection and injury to the pleura and peritoneum during routine practice with the assistance of high-frequency transducers and top of the range portable ultrasound machines; catheters can be inserted to provide a continuous analgesia in the postoperative period. This review article describes the common peripheral blocks in pediatric patients; the readers are encouraged to gain experience by attending workshops, hands-on practice under supervision, and conduct random controlled trials pertaining to ultrasound-guided blocks in the pediatric age group. The recent literature is encouraging and further research is promising; a wide range of blocks being described in detail by many prominent experts from all over the world.

  2. Preparation of β-carotene nanoparticles by antisolvent precipitation under power ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheng, Fei; Chow, Pui Shan; Dong, Yuancai; Tan, Reginald B. H.

    2014-01-01

    This work seeks to produce β-carotene nanoparticles by ultrasound-assisted antisolvent precipitation and to understand the influences of the various process parameters on the synthesized nanoparticles. At the active concentration of 5–15 mg/ml, 112–141 nm β-carotene particles were precipitated under 1 min ultrasound (18 W); while precipitation without ultrasound resulted in 144–365 nm particles. Without ultrasound, addition of the active solution to water (antisolvent) produced 241 nm particles while addition of water to active solution led to bigger particles, i.e., 519 nm. When the precipitation was carried out under ultrasound, the particle size had only a small increment from 117 to 132 nm. Furthermore, active/antisolvent volume ratio influenced particle size significantly; the particle size decreased from 432 to 223 nm as the active/antisolvent volume ratio decreased from 1:1 to 1:4 without ultrasound. However, the smallest β-carotene particles (117 nm) were precipitated with active/antisolvent volume ratio at 1:2 under ultrasound. Nanoparticles precipitated under ultrasound showed faster dissolution rate in comparison with the raw active and nanoparticles precipitated without ultrasound

  3. Preparation of β-carotene nanoparticles by antisolvent precipitation under power ultrasound

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheng, Fei, E-mail: shengf@ices.a-star.edu.sg; Chow, Pui Shan; Dong, Yuancai; Tan, Reginald B. H., E-mail: reginald.tan@ices.a-star.edu.sg [Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (Singapore)

    2014-12-15

    This work seeks to produce β-carotene nanoparticles by ultrasound-assisted antisolvent precipitation and to understand the influences of the various process parameters on the synthesized nanoparticles. At the active concentration of 5–15 mg/ml, 112–141 nm β-carotene particles were precipitated under 1 min ultrasound (18 W); while precipitation without ultrasound resulted in 144–365 nm particles. Without ultrasound, addition of the active solution to water (antisolvent) produced 241 nm particles while addition of water to active solution led to bigger particles, i.e., 519 nm. When the precipitation was carried out under ultrasound, the particle size had only a small increment from 117 to 132 nm. Furthermore, active/antisolvent volume ratio influenced particle size significantly; the particle size decreased from 432 to 223 nm as the active/antisolvent volume ratio decreased from 1:1 to 1:4 without ultrasound. However, the smallest β-carotene particles (117 nm) were precipitated with active/antisolvent volume ratio at 1:2 under ultrasound. Nanoparticles precipitated under ultrasound showed faster dissolution rate in comparison with the raw active and nanoparticles precipitated without ultrasound.

  4. Free radical generation induced by ultrasound in red wine and model wine: An EPR spin-trapping study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qing-An; Shen, Yuan; Fan, Xue-Hui; Martín, Juan Francisco García; Wang, Xi; Song, Yun

    2015-11-01

    Direct evidence for the formation of 1-hydroxylethyl radicals by ultrasound in red wine and air-saturated model wine is presented in this paper. Free radicals are thought to be the key intermediates in the ultrasound processing of wine, but their nature has not been established yet. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin trapping with 5,5-dimethyl-l-pyrrolin N-oxide (DMPO) was used for the detection of hydroxyl free radicals and 1-hydroxylethyl free radicals. Spin adducts of hydroxyl free radicals were detected in DMPO aqueous solution after sonication while 1-hydroxylethyl free radical adducts were observed in ultrasound-processed red wine and model wine. The latter radical arose from ethanol oxidation via the hydroxyl radical generated by ultrasound in water, thus providing the first direct evidence of the formation of 1-hydroxylethyl free radical in red wine exposed to ultrasound. Finally, the effects of ultrasound frequency, ultrasound power, temperature and ultrasound exposure time were assessed on the intensity of 1-hydroxylethyl radical spin adducts in model wine. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Natural Antioxidants from Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa L. Peel Using Response Surface Methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gui-Fang Deng

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Sugar apple (Annona squamosa L. is a popular tropical fruit and its peel is a municipal waste. An ultrasound-assisted extraction method was developed for the recovery of natural antioxidants from sugar apple peel. Central composite design was used to optimize solvent concentration (13.2%–46.8%, ultrasonic time (33.2–66.8 min, and temperature (43.2–76.8 °C for the recovery of natural antioxidants from sugar apple peel. The second-order polynomial models demonstrated a good fit of the quadratic models with the experimental results in respect to total phenolic content (TPC, R2 = 0.9524, p < 0.0001, FRAP (R2 = 0.9743, p < 0.0001, and TEAC (R2 = 0.9610, p < 0.0001 values. The optimal extraction conditions were 20:1 (mL/g of solvent-to-solid ratio, 32.68% acetone, and 67.23 °C for 42.54 min under ultrasonic irradiation. Under these conditions, the maximal yield of total phenolic content was 26.81 (mg GA/g FW. The experimental results obtained under optimal conditions agreed well with the predicted results. The application of ultrasound markedly decreased extraction time and improved the extraction efficiency, compared with the conventional methods.

  6. Ultrasound-assisted chemoenzymatic epoxidation of soybean oil by using lipase as biocatalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhalerao, Machhindra S; Kulkarni, Vaishali M; Patwardhan, Anand V

    2018-01-01

    The present work reports the use of ultrasonic irradiation for enhancing lipase catalyzed epoxidation of soybean oil. Higher degree of unsaturated fatty acids, present in the soybean oil was converted to epoxidized soybean oil by using an immobilized lipase, Candida antarctica (Novozym 435). The effects of various parameters on the relative percentage conversion of the double bond to oxirane oxygen were investigated and the optimum conditions were established. The parameters studied were temperature, hydrogen peroxide to ethylenic unsaturation mole ratio, stirring speed, solvent ratio, catalyst loading, ultrasound frequency, ultrasound input power and duty cycle. The main objective of this work was to intensify chemoenzymatic epoxidation of the soybean oil by using ultrasound, to reduce the time required for epoxidation. Epoxidation of the soybean oil was achieved under mild reaction conditions by indirect ultrasonic irradiations (using ultrasonic bath). The relative percentage conversion to oxirane oxygen of 91.22% was achieved within 5h. The lipase was remarkably stable under optimized reaction conditions, later was recovered and reused six times to produce epoxidized soybean oil (ESO). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Intensive treatment with ultrasound visual feedback for speech sound errors in childhood apraxia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan L Preston

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Ultrasound imaging is an adjunct to traditional speech therapy that has shown to be beneficial in the remediation of speech sound errors. Ultrasound biofeedback can be utilized during therapy to provide clients additional knowledge about their tongue shapes when attempting to produce sounds that are in error. The additional feedback may assist children with childhood apraxia of speech in stabilizing motor patterns, thereby facilitating more consistent and accurate productions of sounds and syllables. However, due to its specialized nature, ultrasound visual feedback is a technology that is not widely available to clients. Short-term intensive treatment programs are one option that can be utilized to expand access to ultrasound biofeedback. Schema-based motor learning theory suggests that short-term intensive treatment programs (massed practice may assist children in acquiring more accurate motor patterns. In this case series, three participants ages 10-14 diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech attended 16 hours of speech therapy over a two-week period to address residual speech sound errors. Two participants had distortions on rhotic sounds, while the third participant demonstrated lateralization of sibilant sounds. During therapy, cues were provided to assist participants in obtaining a tongue shape that facilitated a correct production of the erred sound. Additional practice without ultrasound was also included. Results suggested that all participants showed signs of acquisition of sounds in error. Generalization and retention results were mixed. One participant showed generalization and retention of sounds that were treated; one showed generalization but limited retention; and the third showed no evidence of generalization or retention. Individual characteristics that may facilitate generalization are discussed. Short-term intensive treatment programs using ultrasound biofeedback may result in the acquisition of more accurate motor

  8. Industrial applications of plasma, microwave and ultrasound techniques : nitrogen-fixation and hydrogenation reactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hessel, V.; Cravotto, G.; Fitzpatrick, P.; Patil, B.S.; Lang, J.; Bonrath, W.

    2013-01-01

    The MAPSYN project (Microwave, Acoustic and Plasma assisted SYNtheses) aims at nitrogen-fixation reactions intensified by plasma catalysis and selective hydrogenations intensified by microwaves, possibly assisted by ultrasound. Energy efficiency is the key motif of the project and the call of the

  9. Effect of ultrasound-assisted crystallization in the diastereomeric salt resolution of tetramisole enantiomers in ternary system with O,O'-dibenzoyl-(2R,3R)-tartaric acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szeleczky, Zsolt; Kis-Mihály, Erzsébet; Semsey, Sándor; Pataki, Hajnalka; Bagi, Péter; Pálovics, Emese; Marosi, György; Pokol, György; Fogassy, Elemér; Madarász, János

    2016-09-01

    The diastereomeric salt resolution of racemic tetramisole was studied using ultrasound irradiation. We examined the effect of power and duration of ultrasonic irradiation on the properties of the crystalline phase formed by ultrasound-assisted crystallization and the result of the whole optical resolution. The results were compared with reference experiment without using ultrasound. The US time (5-30min) caused higher enantiomeric excess. Although yield was lower continuously high resolving efficiency could have been reached through ultrasound. We had the best results with 4.3W ultrasound power when resolvability was even higher than the best of reference. Furthermore, we accomplished a deep and thorough examination of the salts that possibly could form in this resolution. One of the four diastereomeric salts, which have been identified by powder X-ray diffraction, FTIR-spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in the ternary system of the two tetramisole enantiomers and the resolving agent, namely the bis[(S)-tetramisole]-dibenzoyl-(R,R)-tartrate salt have been proven the key compound in the resolution process, and presented the highest melting point of 166°C (dec.) among the four salts. The originally expected diastereomeric bitartrate salts with 1:1M base:acid ratio [(S)-tetramisole-dibenzoyl-(R,R)-hydrogen-tartrate salt and (R)-tetramisole-dibenzoyl-(R,R)-hydrogen-tartrate salt] and their 'racemic' co-crystal [(RS)-tetramisole-dibenzoyl-(R,R)-hydrogen-tartrate salt] showed somewhat lower melting points (152, 145, and 150°C, respectively) and their crystallization was also prevented by application of ultrasound. Based on the melting points and enthalpies of fusion measured by DSC, all the binary and ternary phase diagrams have been newly established and calculated in the system with help of classical modelling equations of liquidus curves. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Ultrasound assisted arthroscopic approach for removal of basilar sesamoid fragments of the proximal sesamoid bones in horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Elizabeth J; Rodgerson, Dwayne H

    2014-08-01

    To describe an ultrasound assisted arthroscopic approach for removal of non-articular basilar sesamoid fragments in Thoroughbred yearlings. Thoroughbred yearlings (n = 7). Basilar sesamoid fragments identified during pre-sale radiographic examination were removed using a palmar/plantar arthroscopic approach to the fetlock joint and ultrasonographic guidance. Complete fragment removal was confirmed by ultrasonography and radiography. Basilar sesamoid fracture fragments were localized and removed successfully using rongeurs and a radiofrequency probe for soft tissue dissection of the fragment. Complete fragment removal was confirmed by ultrasonography and radiography. No intra- or postoperative complications occurred. At 6-8 months follow-up, no fragments or bony proliferation at the base of the sesamoid was observed. Ultrasonographic guidance can be used to facilitate localization, dissection, and confirmation of removal of basilar fragments of the proximal sesamoid bone. © Copyright 2014 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

  11. Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes by an oxide-assisted chemical method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singhal, S. K.; Srivastava, A. K.; Gupta, Anil K.; Chen, Z. G.

    2010-01-01

    We report a new method for the synthesis of boron nitride (BN) nanotubes employing a two-step process in which some oxides have found to catalyze the growth of BN nanotubes. In the first step, a precursor containing B-N-O-Fe/Mg was prepared by ball milling a mixture of B, B 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 and MgO (1:7:2:1 mass ratio) in NH 3 for 3 h. BN nanotubes (diameter: 20-100 nm) were grown in the second step from this precursor by isothermal annealing at 1,350 o C in NH 3 for about 4 h. XRD, SEM and HR-TEM studies elucidated the spindle-like morphology of these nanotubes of hexagonal crystal structure. The Raman spectrum showed the peak broadening and shifts to higher frequency. The present method showed that some oxides assisted the growth of BN nanotubes. A possible reaction mechanism on the formation of BN nanotubes in the presence of these oxides is discussed.

  12. Ultrasound-controlled neuronavigator-guided brain surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koivukangas, J; Louhisalmi, Y; Alakuijala, J; Oikarinen, J

    1993-07-01

    The development of a unique neurosurgical navigator is described and a preliminary series of seven cases of intracerebral lesions approached with the assistance of this neuronavigation system under ultrasound control is presented. The clinical series included five low-grade astrocytomas, one chronic intracerebral hematoma, and one porencephalic cyst. Management procedures included biopsy in all cases, drainage of the hematoma, and endoscopy and fenestration for the cyst. The features of the neuronavigation system are interactive reconstructions of preoperative computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging data, corresponding intraoperative ultrasound images, versatility of the interchangeable end-effector instruments, graphic presentation of instruments on the reconstructed images, and voice control of the system. The principle of a common axis in the reconstructed images served to align the navigational pointer, biopsy guide, endoscope guide, ultrasound transducer, and surgical microscope to the brain anatomy. Intraoperative ultrasound imaging helped to verify the accuracy of the neuronavigator and check the results of the procedures. The arm of the neuronavigation system served as a holder for instruments, such as the biopsy guide, endoscope guide, and ultrasound transducer, in addition to functioning as a navigational pointer. Also, the surgical microscope was aligned with the neuronavigator for inspection and biopsy of the hematoma capsule to rule out tumor etiology. Voice control freed the neurosurgeon from manual exercises during start-up and calibration of the system.

  13. Ionic liquid ultrasound assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method for preconcentration of trace amounts of rhodium prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometry determination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Molaakbari, Elaheh [Chemistry Department, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Young Research Society, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mostafavi, Ali, E-mail: mostafavi.ali@gmail.com [Chemistry Department, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Afzali, Daryoush [Environment and Nanochemistry Department, Research Institute of Environmental Science, International Center for Science, High Technology and Environmental Science, Kerman (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mineral Industries Research Center, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2011-01-30

    In this article, we consider ionic liquid based ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of trace amounts of rhodium from aqueous samples and show that this is a fast and reliable sample pre-treatment for the determination of rhodium ions by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The Rh(III) was transferred into its complex with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylamino phenol as a chelating agent, and an ultrasonic bath with the ionic liquid, 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide at room temperature was used to extract the analyte. The centrifuged rhodium complex was then enriched in the form of ionic liquid droplets and prior to its analysis by flame atomic absorption spectrometry, 300 {mu}L ethanol was added to the ionic liquid-rich phase. Finally, the influence of various parameters on the recovery of Rh(III) was optimized. Under optimum conditions, the calibration graph was linear in the range of 4.0-500.0 ng mL{sup -1}, the detection limit was 0.37 ng mL{sup -1} (3S{sub b}/m, n = 7) and the relative standard deviation was {+-}1.63% (n = 7, C = 200 ng mL{sup -1}). The results show that ionic liquid based ultrasound assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, combined with flame atomic absorption spectrometry, is a rapid, simple, sensitive and efficient analytical method for the separation and determination of trace amounts of Rh(III) ions with minimum organic solvent consumption.

  14. Reductive and oxidative reactions with inorganic colloids in aqueous solution initiated by ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mulvaney, P.C.; Sostaric, J.Z.; Ashokkumar, M.; Grieser, F.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: The absorption of ultrasound in an aqueous solution can lead to the formation of H and OH radicals which can act as redox species or react with solutes to produce secondary radicals which themselves may participate in electron transfer reactions. The radical formation occurs through the growth then rapid collapse of microbubbles a process that produces localised hot spots with an internal temperature of the order of 5000 K. We have examined two colloidal systems one involving the reductive dissolution of MnO 2 colloids and the other the oxidative dissolution of CdS colloids. In the case of MnO 2 dissolution we found that the reduction of the colloidal metal oxide was considerably enhanced in the presence of aliphatic alcohols in solution and the longer the alkyl chain length on the alcohol the greater its effect. The dissolution of CdS colloids which we ascribe to the reaction of H 2 O 2 and O 2 - with the metal sulfide lo yield Cd 2+ and S could be significantly retarded by the presence of excess S 2- in solution. The mechanisms involved in these two dissolution processes will he presented. Our results clearly show that sonochemical reactions are quite efficient in colloidal solutions and this fact needs to be considered when using sonication to disperse colloidal material in solution, a common practice among colloid chemists

  15. Ultrasound in assisted reproduction: a call to fill the endometrial gap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hershko-Klement, Anat; Tepper, Ronnie

    2016-06-01

    Ultrasound offers essential details and an overall view of the anatomic features of the reproductive organs, as well as physiologic assessment. There is still a great gap, however, in our understanding and interpretation of endometrial sonographic findings. Endometrial thickness, growth, and sonographic patterns have been repeatedly tested and compared with pregnancy rates in IVF cycles, yielding conflicting results. Generally, the data accrued so far suggest refraining from clinical decisions based solely on endometrial thickness. The three-layer ultrasound pattern reflects normal follicular/proliferative dynamics, and its presence in the pre-hCG period was reported to carry a better outcome: Significantly higher clinical pregnancy rates were found in patients with this pattern on the day of hCG administration among IVF cohorts. Subendometrial contractility (endometrial "waves") offers a tool that can be used in cases of repeated implantation failure in patients reporting cramps around the planned time of embryo transfer, or as a reassuring modality to assess uterine quiescence during preparations for embryo transfer. We support the creation of an integrated endometrial score incorporating conservative endometrial measurements, endometrial-myometrial junction studies, and endometrial contractility, as well as new concepts that remain to be tested, such as endometrial surface area. Such scores may enable us to improve the effectiveness of endometrial ultrasound imaging in the clinical setting. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Ultrasound, CT and MRI of ruptured and disseminated hydatid cysts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sinner, W.N. von (King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). Department of Radiology)

    Three cases of echinococcus granulosus with rupture of hydatid cysts and widespread abdominal, pelvic of pleural dissemination are described. Ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allowed recognition of ruptured hydatid cysts. This assisted to come to an appropriate therapy and exclusion or confirmation of hydatid cysts elsewhere in the body. Ultrasound, CT and MRI are also important for follow-up, evaluation of therapeutic response and/or early diagnosis of recurrence. (author). 22 refs.; 3 figs.

  17. Ultrasound, CT and MRI of ruptured and disseminated hydatid cysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinner, W.N. von

    1990-01-01

    Three cases of echinococcus granulosus with rupture of hydatid cysts and widespread abdominal, pelvic of pleural dissemination are described. Ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allowed recognition of ruptured hydatid cysts. This assisted to come to an appropriate therapy and exclusion or confirmation of hydatid cysts elsewhere in the body. Ultrasound, CT and MRI are also important for follow-up, evaluation of therapeutic response and/or early diagnosis of recurrence. (author). 22 refs.; 3 figs

  18. Multi-objective optimization of oxidative desulfurization in a sono-photochemical airlift reactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behin, Jamshid; Farhadian, Negin

    2017-09-01

    Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize ultrasound/ultraviolet-assisted oxidative desulfurization in an airlift reactor. Ultrasonic waves were incorporated in a novel-geometry reactor to investigate the synergistic effects of sono-chemistry and enhanced gas-liquid mass transfer. Non-hydrotreated kerosene containing sulfur and aromatic compounds was chosen as a case study. Experimental runs were conducted based on a face-centered central composite design and analyzed using RSM. The effects of two categorical factors, i.e., ultrasound and ultraviolet irradiation and two numerical factors, i.e., superficial gas velocity and oxidation time were investigated on two responses, i.e., desulfurization and de-aromatization yields. Two-factor interaction (2FI) polynomial model was developed for the responses and the desirability function associate with overlay graphs was applied to find optimum conditions. The results showed enhancement in desulfurization ability corresponds to more reduction in aromatic content of kerosene in each combination. Based on desirability approach and certain criteria considered for desulfurization/de-aromatization, the optimal desulfurization and de-aromatization yields of 91.7% and 48% were obtained in US/UV/O 3 /H 2 O 2 combination, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted aqueous two-phase system extraction of polyphenolic compounds from Aronia melanocarpa pomace by response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yan-Yang; Qiu, Yang; Ren, Hui; Ju, Dong-Hu; Jia, Hong-Lei

    2017-03-16

    Aronia melanocarpa berries are abundant in polyphenolic compounds. After juice production, the pomace of pressed berries still contains a substantial amount of polyphenolic compounds. For efficient utilization of A. melanocarpa berries and the enhancement of polyphenolic compound yields in Aronia melanocarpa pomace (AMP), total phenolics (TP) and total flavonoids (TF) from AMP were extracted, using ultrasound-assisted aqueous two-phase system (UAE-ATPS) extraction method. First, the influences of ammonium sulfate concentration, ethanol-water ratio, ultrasonic time, and ultrasonic power on TP and TF yields were investigated. On this basis, process variables such as ammonium sulfate concentration (0.30-0.35 g mL -1 ), ethanol-water ratio (0.6-0.8), ultrasonic time (40-60 min), and ultrasonic power (175-225 W) were further optimized by implementing Box-Benhnken design with response surface methodology. The experimental results showed that optimal extraction conditions of TP from AMP were as follows: ammonium sulfate concentration of 0.324 g mL -1 , ethanol-water ratio of 0.69, ultrasonic time of 52 min, and ultrasonic power of 200 W. Meanwhile, ammonium sulfate concentration of 0.320 g mL -1 , ethanol-water ratio of 0.71, ultrasonic time of 50 min, and ultrasonic power of 200 W were determined as optimum extraction conditions of TF in AMP. Experimental validation was performed, where TP and TF yields reached 68.15 ± 1.04 and 11.67 ± 0.63 mg g -1 , respectively. Close agreement was found between experimental and predicted values. Overall, the present results demonstrated that ultrasound-assisted aqueous two-phase system extraction method was successfully used to extract total phenolics and flavonoids in A. melanocarpa pomace.

  20. Sucrose tricarboxylate by sonocatalysed TEMPO-mediated oxidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemoine, S; Thomazeau, C; Joannard, D; Trombotto, S; Descotes, G; Bouchu, A; Queneau, Y

    2000-06-16

    Oxidation of sucrose by the NaOCl/TEMPO system provided sucrose tricarboxylate without the addition of sodium bromide as co-catalyst when high-frequency (500 kHz) ultrasound was applied, in contrast to very limited conversion without sonication. In the presence of sodium bromide, sonication also caused acceleration of the oxidation. The rate increase due to sonication of the oxidant system prior to sucrose addition suggests that ultrasound acts at the level of the formation of the nitrosonium ion, the active oxidising species in the catalytic cycle.

  1. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of lipids from Chlorella vulgaris using [Bmim][MeSO4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Young-Hoo; Park, Saerom; Kim, Min Hoo; Choi, Yong-Keun; Yang, Yung-Hun; Kim, Hyung Joo; Kim, Hyungsup; Kim, Han-Soo; Song, Kyung-Guen; Lee, Sang Hyun

    2013-01-01

    Lipids from Chlorella vulgaris were successfully extracted using an ionic liquid, [Bmim][MeSO 4 ]. [Bmim][MeSO 4 ] dissolved C. vulgaris, leaving the lipids insoluble. The undissolved lipids could easily be recovered due to the lower density of the lipid phase. Furthermore, ultrasound irradiation highly enhanced the extraction rate and yield with [Bmim][MeSO 4 ]. The total amounts of lipid extracted from C. vulgaris by the Soxhlet method and the Bligh and Dyer's method were 21 and 29 mg/g dry cell weight (DCW), respectively, whereas it was 47 mg/g DCW with [Bmim][MeSO 4 ]. Additionally, the amount of lipid extracted using [Bmim][MeSO 4 ] was 1.6 times greater with ultrasound irradiation. The rate of extraction of lipids from C. vulgaris with [Bmim][MeSO 4 ] was also 2.7 times greater with ultrasound irradiation. The fatty acid profiles of the lipids extracted using [Bmim][MeSO 4 ] were very similar to those of the lipids obtained by Bligh and Dyer's method. -- Highlights: •[Bmim][MeSO 4 ] efficiently extracted lipids from algae without pretreatment. •Ultrasound irradiation highly enhanced the extraction rate and yield of the extraction system using IL. •Fatty acid profiles of lipids extracted using [Bmim][MeSO 4 ] were similar to those of the lipids obtained by conventional methods

  2. Optimization of Ficus deltoidea Using Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction by Box-Behnken Statistical Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. J. Ong

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the effect of extraction parameters (ethanol concentration, sonication time, and solvent-to-sample ratio on Ficus deltoidea leaves was investigated using ultrasound-assisted extraction by response surface methodology (RSM. Total phenolic content (TPC of F. deltoidea extracts was identified using Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed in gallic acid equivalent (GAE per g. Box-Behnken statistical design (BBD was the tool used to find the optimal conditions for maximum TPC. Besides, the extraction yield was measured and stated in percentage. The optimized TPC attained was 455.78 mg GAE/g at 64% ethanol concentration, 10 minutes sonication time, and 20 mL/g solvent-to-sample ratio whereas the greatest extraction yield was 33% with ethanol concentration of 70%, sonication time of 40 minutes, and solvent-to-material ratio at 40 mL/g. The determination coefficient, R2, for TPC indicates that 99.5% capriciousness in the response could be clarified by the ANOVA model and the value of 0.9681 of predicted R2 is in equitable agreement with the 0.9890 of adjusted R2. The present study shows that ethanol water as solvent, a short time of 10 minutes, and adequate solvent-to-sample ratio (20 mL/g are the best conditions for extraction.

  3. Ultrasound exfoliation of inorganic analogues of graphene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stengl, Václav; Henych, Jiří; Slušná, Michaela; Ecorchard, Petra

    2014-04-05

    High-intensity ultrasound exfoliation of a bulk-layered material is an attractive route for large-scale preparation of monolayers. The monolayer slices could potentially be prepared with a high yield (up to 100%) in a few minutes. Exfoliation of natural minerals (such as tungstenite and molybdenite) or bulk synthetic materials (including hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), hexagonal boron carbon nitride (h-BCN), and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)) in liquids leads to the breakdown of the 3D graphitic structure into a 2D structure; the efficiency of this process is highly dependent upon the physical effects of the ultrasound. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were employed to verify the quality of the exfoliation. Herein, this new method of exfoliation with ultrasound assistance for application to mono- and bilayered materials in hydrophobic and hydrophilic environments is presented.

  4. Effect of ultrasound on olive oil extraction and optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of extra virgin olive oil by response surface methodology (RSM)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aydar, A.Y.; Bağdatlıoğlu, N.; Köseoğlu, O.

    2017-01-01

    In this study, the effects of different extraction parameters including ultrasound time, temperature and malaxation time on olive oil quality were investigated. The extraction variables ultrasound initial temperature (20–50 °C), ultrasound time (2–10 min) and malaxation time (30–50 min) were studied to obtain ideal conditions of ultrasonic treatment on the olive paste for obtaining of a greater yield in the extraction of oil, while maintaining a maximum level of commercial quality. To evaluate the level of commercial quality, absorbance in the UV region, peroxide (PV) and free acidity values (AV), the total chlorophyll, carotenoid, phenol contents, total antioxidant activity and sensory analysis of EVOOs extracted from Edremit cultivar were determined. The optimum conditions were found to be 50 °C, 2 min and 43.23 min for ultrasound initial temperature, sonication time and malaxation time, respectively. This optimal condition gave an extraction yield of 8.25 % and the acidity value of 0.24 mg oleic acid/100 g olive oil. The experimental values obtained under optimal conditions were in agreement with the theoretical values [es

  5. Structural and physicochemical properties of nickel manganite NiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4-δ}synthesized by sol-gel and ultra sound assisted methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alburquenque, D. [Materials Chemistry Department, USACH, Ave L.B.O' Higgins 3363, Santiago 9170022 (Chile); Metallurgy Department, USACH, Ave Ecuador 3469, Santiago 9170124 (Chile); Troncoso, L.; Denardin, J.C. [Physics Department, USACH, Ave. Ecuador 3493, Santiago 9170124 (Chile); Butera, A. [Atomic Center, CNEA, Ito. Balseiro, Bariloche Rio Negro 84000 (Argentina); Padmasree, K.D. [Cinvestav, U.Saltillo, Monterrey Km 13.5, Saltillo CP 25900 (Mexico); Ortiz, J.; Herrera, F. [Materials Chemistry Department, USACH, Ave L.B.O' Higgins 3363, Santiago 9170022 (Chile); Marco, J.F. [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Rocasolano”, CSIC, Serrano 119, Madrid 28006 (Spain); Gautier, J.L., E-mail: juan.gautier@usach.cl [Materials Chemistry Department, USACH, Ave L.B.O' Higgins 3363, Santiago 9170022 (Chile)

    2016-07-05

    In this work we present the structural, magnetic and surface characterization of the ceramic nickel manganite oxide NiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4-δ} synthesized by two methods: sol-gel and ultrasound-assisted sol-gel using nitrate salts as precursors. We have characterized the non-stoichiometric samples NiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4-δ} using different physicochemical analyses. X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement of the X-ray data indicated that the samples crystallize in the Fd3m space group characteristic of cubic spinel-related oxides. The specific surface area of the oxides was 1.3 m{sup 2}/g (SG) and 16.3 m{sup 2}/g (UASG). SEM results showed particle agglomerates of 1.05 μm (SG) and 0.85 μm (UASG). Temperature dependence magnetization measurements were performed and a ferrimagnetic transition was identified at 103 K and 105 K depending on the preparation method (SG and UASG, respectively). The observed Curie constant was found to vary from 7.4 to 7.7 cm{sup 3} K mol{sup −1} and hysteretic magnetization vs. applied field curves at different temperatures were obtained. XPS studies of these oxides reveal the presence of Ni{sup 2+}, Mn{sup 2+}, Mn{sup 3+} and Mn{sup 4+} ions at the surface. A probable ionic distribution as a function of the synthesis method is proposed. - Highlights: • Nickel manganite was synthesized by sol gel synthesis and a novel ultrasound-assisted sol gel method. . • Bulk and surface cation distributions are proposed. • Physicochemical properties, including magnetic and surface area measurements, were studied for both types of samples.

  6. Reduction of the Areolar Diameter After Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction for Gynecomastia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keskin, Mustafa; Sutcu, Mustafa; Hanci, Mustafa; Cigsar, Bulent

    2017-08-01

    One of the clinical aspects characterizing gynecomastia is the enlargement of the nipple-areolar complex (NAC) due to hypertrophic breast glands, and the excessive fatty tissue underneath. The purpose of this study was to quantify the reduction of the areolar diameter after ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL) of the male breast. The horizontal diameters of the NACs of 30 men who underwent UAL were measured before surgery, 1 month after surgery and 6 months after surgery in a standard fashion. Those patients with surgical gland removals of any kind were not included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 27.9 years, and all of the patients had bilateral grade I, II, or III gynecomastia. The mean diameter of the NACs before surgery was 35.36 mm (range, 26-55 mm), and after surgery, the mean diameter of the NACs was initially reduced to 28.8 mm (range, 23-44 mm) and later to 28.57 mm (range, 23-42 mm). The mean volume of breast tissue aspirated was 382 mL per breast, and the percentage of reduction was 17.3%. The reduction of areola diameter was statistically significant after first month. A significant positive correlation was identified between the liposuction volume and areolar diameter reduction. In cases of gynecomastia, the removal of the glandular and fatty tissue underneath the areola releases the expanding forces and pressure that enlarge it. In many cases of gynecomastia, UAL alone is effective in reducing the size of the NAC and allows the surgeon to avoid placing scars on the breast.

  7. Influence of extrinsic operational parameters on salt diffusion during ultrasound assisted meat curing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inguglia, Elena S; Zhang, Zhihang; Burgess, Catherine; Kerry, Joseph P; Tiwari, Brijesh K

    2018-02-01

    The present study investigated the effect of geometric parameters of the ultrasound instrument during meat salting in order to enhance salt diffusion and salt distribution in pork meat on a lab scale. The effects of probe size (∅2.5 and 1.3cm) and of different distances between the transducer and the meat sample (0.3, 0.5, and 0.8cm) on NaCl diffusion were investigated. Changes in the moisture content and NaCl gain were used to evaluate salt distribution and diffusion in the samples, parallel and perpendicular to ultrasound propagation direction. Results showed that 0.3cm was the most efficient distance between the probe and the sample to ensure a higher salt diffusion rate. A distance of 0.5cm was however considered as a trade-off distance to ensure salt diffusion and maintenance of meat quality parameters. The enhancement of salt diffusion by ultrasound was observed to decrease with increased horizontal distance from the probe. This study is of valuable importance for meat processing industries willing to apply new technologies on a larger scale and with defined operational standards. The data suggest that the geometric parameters of ultrasound systems can have strong influence on the efficiency of ultrasonic enhancement of NaCl uptake in meat and can be a crucial element in determining salt uptake during meat processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Ultrasound-accelerated synthesis of biphenyl compounds using novel Pd(0) nanoparticles immobilized on bio-composite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baran, Talat

    2018-07-01

    This study describes (i) an eco-friendly approach for design of Pd(0) nanoparticles on a natural composite, which is composed of carboxymethyl cellulose/agar polysaccharides (CMC/AG), without using any toxic reducing agents and (ii) development of ultrasound assisted simple protocol for synthesis of biphenyl compounds. Chemical characterization studies of Pd(0) nanoparticles (Pd NPs@CMC/AG) revealed that size of the particles were in the range of 37-55 nm. Catalytic performance of Pd NPs@CMC/AG was evaluated in synthesis of various biphenyl compounds by using the ultrasound-assisted method that was developed in this study. Pd NPs@CMC/AG exhibited excellent catalytic performance by producing high reaction yields. In addition, Pd NPs@CMC/AG was successfully used up to six reaction cycles without losing its catalytic activity, indicating high reproducibility of Pd NPs@CMC/AG. Additionally, compared to conventional the methods, new ultrasound-assisted synthesis technique that was followed in this study exhibited some advantages such as shorter reaction time, greener reaction conditions, higher yields and easier work-up. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Use of ultrasound radiation for extraction of bioactive compounds from natural sources. Current events and perspectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez Riera, Zalua; Robaina Mesa, Malvis; Jauregui Haza, Ulises

    2014-01-01

    In recent years, clean technologies have been developed for high efficiency extracting of isolation of biologically active compounds from natural sources, without the loss of biological activity, with good yield and high purity. Ultrasound-assisted extraction has low instrumental requirements and their implementation is very appropriate where the stability of the active component to be removed is affected by the high temperatures of conventional processes. In this paper it is evaluated the state of the art of ultrasound-assisted extraction of bioactive compounds from various natural sources, its mechanism, the parameters governing its use and research perspectives in this field. Ultrasonic cavitation phenomenon promotes cell wall rupture, reduction of particle size and tissue permeability, which facilitates the diffusion of the solvent into the inert part of the plant material and increasing the mass transferred through membranes. This mechanism explains the high efficiency of ultrasound-assisted extraction as it allows to reduce the time, temperature and amounts of solvent extraction process with high yields and high purity of the extracted product. Currently there is a great demand for the use of ultrasound to industrial and current research lead to the development of larger scale reactors and the theoretical modeling of the parameters that determine efficient extraction

  10. Initial Experience with a Wireless Ultrasound-Guided Vacuum-Assisted Breast Biopsy Device.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E-Ryung Choi

    Full Text Available To determine the imaging characteristic of frequent target lesions of wireless ultrasound (US-guided, vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (Wi-UVAB and to evaluate diagnostic yield, accuracy and complication of the device in indeterminate breast lesions.From March 2013 to October 2014, 114 women (age range, 29-76 years; mean age, 50.0 years underwent Wi-UVAB using a 13-gauge needle (Mammotome Elite®; Devicor Medical Products, Cincinnati, OH, USA. In 103 lesions of 96 women with surgical (n = 81 or follow-up (n = 22 data, complications, biopsy procedure, imaging findings of biopsy targets and histologic results were reviewed.Mean number of biopsy cores was 10 (range 4-25. Nine patients developed moderate bleeding. All lesions were suspicious on US, and included non-mass lesions (67.0% and mass lesions (33.0%. Visible calcifications on US were evident in 57.3% of the target lesions. Most of the lesions (93.2% were nonpalpable. Sixty-six (64.1% were malignant [ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS rate, 61%] and 12 were high-risk lesions (11.7%. Histologic underestimation was identified in 11 of 40 (27.5%. DCIS cases and in 3 of 9 (33.3% high-risk lesions necessitating surgery. There was no false-negative case.Wi-UVAB is very handy and advantageous for US-unapparent non-mass lesions to diagnose DCIS, especially for calcification cases. Histologic underestimation is unavoidable; still, Wi-UVAB is safe and accurate to diagnose a malignancy.

  11. Rapid and sensitive determination of phytosterols in functional foods and medicinal herbs by using UHPLC-MS/MS with microwave-assisted derivatization combined with dual ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jing; Zhao, Xian-En; Dang, Jun; Sun, Xiaoyan; Zheng, Longfang; You, Jinmao; Wang, Xiao

    2017-02-01

    In this work, a hyphenated technique of dual ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with microwave-assisted derivatization followed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry has been developed for the determination of phytosterols in functional foods and medicinal herbs. Multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for the tandem mass spectrometry detection. A mass spectrometry sensitive reagent, 4'-carboxy-substituted rosamine, has been used as the derivatization reagent for five phytosterols, and internal standard diosgenin was used for the first time. Parameters for the dual microextraction, microwave-assisted derivatization, and ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry were all optimized in detail. Satisfactory linearity, recovery, repeatability, accuracy and precision, absence of matrix effect, extremely low limits of detection (0.005-0.015 ng/mL) and limits of quantification (0.030-0.10 ng/mL) were achieved. The proposed method was compared with previously reported methods. It showed better sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy. The matrix effect was also significantly reduced. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of five phytosterols in vegetable oil (sunflower oil, olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil), milk and orange juice (soymilk, peanut milk, orange juice), and medicinal herbs (Ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, Cordyceps, Polygonum multiflorum) for the quality control of functional foods and medicinal herbs. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Ultrasound pregnancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pregnancy sonogram; Obstetric ultrasonography; Obstetric sonogram; Ultrasound - pregnancy; IUGR - ultrasound; Intrauterine growth - ultrasound; Polyhydramnios - ultrasound; Oligohydramnios - ultrasound; ...

  13. Computer assisted radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemke, H.U.; Jaffe, C.C.; Felix, R.

    1993-01-01

    The proceedings of the CAR'93 symposium present the 126 oral papers and the 58 posters contributed to the four Technical Sessions entitled: (1) Image Management, (2) Medical Workstations, (3) Digital Image Generation - DIG, and (4) Application Systems - AS. Topics discussed in Session (1) are: picture archiving and communication systems, teleradiology, hospital information systems and radiological information systems, technology assessment and implications, standards, and data bases. Session (2) deals with computer vision, computer graphics, design and application, man computer interaction. Session (3) goes into the details of the diagnostic examination methods such as digital radiography, MRI, CT, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, digital angiography, and multimodality imaging. Session (4) is devoted to computer-assisted techniques, as there are: computer assisted radiological diagnosis, knowledge based systems, computer assisted radiation therapy and computer assisted surgical planning. (UWA). 266 figs [de

  14. USEFUL: Ultrasound Exam for Underlying Lesions Incorporated into Physical Exam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jon Steller

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The Ultrasound Screening Exam for Underlying Lesions (USEFUL was developed in an attempt to establish a role for bedside ultrasound in the primary and preventive care setting. It is the purpose of our pilot study to determine if students were first capable of performing all of the various scans required of our USEFUL while defining such an ultrasound-assisted physical exam that would supplement the standard hands-on physical exam in the same head-to-toe structure. We also aimed to assess the time needed for an adequate exam and analyze if times improved with repetition and previous ultrasound training. Methods: Medical students with ranging levels of ultrasound training received a 25-minute presentation on our USEFUL followed by a 30-minute hands-on session. Following the hands-on session, the students were asked to perform a timed USEFUL on 2-3 standardized subjects. All images were documented as normal or abnormal with the understanding that an official detailed exam would be performed if an abnormality were to be found. All images were read and deemed adequate by board eligible emergency medicine ultrasound fellows. Results: Twenty-six exams were performed by 9 students. The average time spent by all students per USEFUL was 11 minutes and 19 seconds. Students who had received the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine’s integrated ultrasound curriculum performed the USEFUL significantly faster (p< 0.0025. The time it took to complete the USEFUL ranged from 6 minutes and 32 seconds to 17 minutes, and improvement was seen with each USEFUL performed. The average time to complete the USEFUL on the first standardized patient was 13 minutes and 20 seconds, while 11 minutes and 2 seconds, and 9 minutes and 20 seconds were spent performing the exam on the second and third patient, respectively. Conclusion: Students were able to effectively complete all scans required by the USEFUL in a timely manner. Students who have

  15. Template assisted self-assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles: An x-ray structural analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishra, D.; Zabel, H.; Ulyanov, S. V.; Romanov, V. P.; Uzdin, V. M.

    2014-01-01

    We have fabricated by e-beam lithography periodic arrays of rectangular shaped trenches of different widths into Si substrates. The trenches were filled with iron oxide nanoparticles, 20 nm in diameter, by spin-coating them onto the Si substrate. The trenches have the purpose to assist the self-assembly of the iron oxide nanoparticles. Using x-ray scattering techniques, we have analyzed the structure factor of the trenches before and after filling in order to determine the filling factor. We present a theoretical analysis of the x-ray scattering function within the distorted-wave Born approximation and we present a quantitative comparison between theory and experiment

  16. Template assisted self-assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles: An x-ray structural analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mishra, D. [Department of Physics, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44780 Bochum (Germany); Institut fuer Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universitaet Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin (Germany); Zabel, H. [Department of Physics, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44780 Bochum (Germany); Ulyanov, S. V. [St.-Petersburg State University, Ul' yanovskaya ul.1, Petrodvorets, St.-Petersburg 198904 (Russian Federation); St.-Petersburg University of Commerce and Economics, St.-Petersburg 194018 (Russian Federation); Romanov, V. P. [St.-Petersburg State University, Ul' yanovskaya ul.1, Petrodvorets, St.-Petersburg 198904 (Russian Federation); Uzdin, V. M. [St.-Petersburg State University, Ul' yanovskaya ul.1, Petrodvorets, St.-Petersburg 198904 (Russian Federation); St.-Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, 49, Kronverkskij, St.-Petersburg 197101 (Russian Federation)

    2014-02-07

    We have fabricated by e-beam lithography periodic arrays of rectangular shaped trenches of different widths into Si substrates. The trenches were filled with iron oxide nanoparticles, 20 nm in diameter, by spin-coating them onto the Si substrate. The trenches have the purpose to assist the self-assembly of the iron oxide nanoparticles. Using x-ray scattering techniques, we have analyzed the structure factor of the trenches before and after filling in order to determine the filling factor. We present a theoretical analysis of the x-ray scattering function within the distorted-wave Born approximation and we present a quantitative comparison between theory and experiment.

  17. Morphologic, magnetic, and Moessbauer spectral properties of Fe75Co25 nanoparticles prepared by ultrasound-assisted electrochemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mancier, Valerie; Delplancke, J.-L.; Delwiche, Jacques; Hubin-Franskin, M.-J.; Piquer, Cristina; Rebbouh, Leila; Grandjean, Fernande

    2004-01-01

    Nanopowders of Fe 75 Co 25 alloys have been prepared by ultrasound-assisted electrochemistry. Their composition, crystallographic structure, morphology, have been studied by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and high-energy electron diffraction. The nanopowders are found to present a composition well determined by the electrolyte bath composition, they show a bcc structure. The iron and cobalt atoms exhibit a very homogeneous distribution in the particles. The magnetic properties of the nanopowders have been measured between 5 and 295 K with a vibrating sample magnetometer and their Moessbauer spectra have been obtained at 295 K. The saturation magnetization is characteristic of FeCo alloys. The magnetic behavior and transmission electron microscopy observations of the particles indicate strongly interacting particles with a radius of ca. 2-4 nm, particles which may form agglomerates of larger size. The measured average hyperfine field is situated at the maximum of the Slater-Pauling curve for the FeCo alloys

  18. Comparison of Ultrasound-Assisted and Regular Leaching of Vanadium and Chromium from Roasted High Chromium Vanadium Slag

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Jing; Jiang, Tao; Gao, Huiyang; Liu, Yajing; Zheng, Xiaole; Xue, Xiangxin

    2018-02-01

    Ultrasound-assisted leaching (UAL) was used for vanadium and chromium leaching from roasted material obtained by the calcification roasting of high-chromium-vanadium slag. UAL was compared with regular leaching. The effect of the leaching time and temperature, acid concentration, and liquid-solid ratio on the vanadium and chromium leaching behaviors was investigated. The UAL mechanism was determined from particle-size-distribution and microstructure analyses. UAL decreased the reaction time and leaching temperature significantly. Furthermore, 96.67% vanadium and less than 1% chromium were leached at 60°C for 60 min with 20% H2SO4 at a liquid-solid ratio of 8, which was higher than the maximum vanadium leaching rate of 90.89% obtained using regular leaching at 80°C for 120 min. Ultrasonic waves broke and dispersed the solid sample because of ultrasonic cavitation, which increased the contact area of the roasted sample and the leaching medium, the solid-liquid mass transfer, and the vanadium leaching rate.

  19. Ultrasound promoted synthesis of arylmethylenemalonitriles catalyzed by melamine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Q.; Ai, H.M.

    2016-01-01

    Arylmethylenemalonitriles were synthesized in the presence of melamine through the Knoevenagel condensation of aldehydes with malononitrile in ethanol. Two strategies such as the conventional stirring and ultrasound-assisted method were performed in this work, and improvements were observed by carrying out the reactions under ultrasound irradiation. The effect of frequency and power of ultrasound on the yields was investigated, and the optimum frequency and power was 45 kHz and 240 W, respectively. The Knoevenagel reaction was carried out smoothly under the optimum conditions with the yields of 80-99% within short time. The melamine catalyst showed high activity and reusability, and exhibited no substantial loss of activity over up to four reaction cycles. This work demonstrated that short reaction times and high yields of arylmethylenemalonitriles can be obtained with the facile operation in the presence of the low-toxic, cheap and reusable melamine catalyst. (author)

  20. Augmentation of Muscle Blood Flow by Ultrasound Cavitation Is Mediated by ATP and Purinergic Signaling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belcik, J Todd; Davidson, Brian P; Xie, Aris; Wu, Melinda D; Yadava, Mrinal; Qi, Yue; Liang, Sherry; Chon, Chae Ryung; Ammi, Azzdine Y; Field, Joshua; Harmann, Leanne; Chilian, William M; Linden, Joel; Lindner, Jonathan R

    2017-03-28

    Augmentation of tissue blood flow by therapeutic ultrasound is thought to rely on convective shear. Microbubble contrast agents that undergo ultrasound-mediated cavitation markedly amplify these effects. We hypothesized that purinergic signaling is responsible for shear-dependent increases in muscle perfusion during therapeutic cavitation. Unilateral exposure of the proximal hindlimb of mice (with or without ischemia produced by iliac ligation) to therapeutic ultrasound (1.3 MHz, mechanical index 1.3) was performed for 10 minutes after intravenous injection of 2×10 8 lipid microbubbles. Microvascular perfusion was evaluated by low-power contrast ultrasound perfusion imaging. In vivo muscle ATP release and in vitro ATP release from endothelial cells or erythrocytes were assessed by a luciferin-luciferase assay. Purinergic signaling pathways were assessed by studying interventions that (1) accelerated ATP degradation; (2) inhibited P2Y receptors, adenosine receptors, or K ATP channels; or (3) inhibited downstream signaling pathways involving endothelial nitric oxide synthase or prostanoid production (indomethacin). Augmentation in muscle perfusion by ultrasound cavitation was assessed in a proof-of-concept clinical trial in 12 subjects with stable sickle cell disease. Therapeutic ultrasound cavitation increased muscle perfusion by 7-fold in normal mice, reversed tissue ischemia for up to 24 hours in the murine model of peripheral artery disease, and doubled muscle perfusion in patients with sickle cell disease. Augmentation in flow extended well beyond the region of ultrasound exposure. Ultrasound cavitation produced an ≈40-fold focal and sustained increase in ATP, the source of which included both endothelial cells and erythrocytes. Inhibitory studies indicated that ATP was a critical mediator of flow augmentation that acts primarily through either P2Y receptors or adenosine produced by ectonucleotidase activity. Combined indomethacin and inhibition of

  1. Principles of Billing for Diagnostic Ultrasound in the Office and Operating Room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grasu, Beatrice L; Wolock, Bruce S; Sedgley, Matthew D; Murphy, Michael S

    2018-05-08

    Ultrasound is becoming more prevalent as physicians gain comfort in its diagnostic and therapeutic uses. It allows for both static and dynamic evaluation of conditions and assists in therapeutic injections of joints and tendons. Proper technique is necessary for successful use of this modality. Appropriate coding for physician reimbursement is required. We discuss common wrist and hand pathology for which ultrasound may be useful as an adjunct to diagnosis and treatment and provide an overview of technique and reimbursement codes when using ultrasound in a variety of situations. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Microwave-assisted one-pot synthesis of metal/metal oxide nanoparticles on graphene and their electrochemical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Shuangyin; Jiang San Ping; Wang Xin

    2011-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Research highlights: → Microwave polyol method is efficient to deposit nanoparticles on graphene. → SnO 2 /graphene is more efficient than graphene for supercapacitor. → PtRu/graphene is more active than commercial PtRu/C for methanol oxidation. - Abstract: An effective synthesis strategy of hybrid metal (PtRu)/metal oxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticles on graphene nanocomposites is developed using a microwave-assisted one-pot reaction process. The mixture of ethylene glycol (EG) and water is used as both solvent and reactant. In the reaction system for the synthesis of SnO 2 /graphene nanocomposite, EG not only reduces graphene oxide (GO) to graphene, but also results in the formation of SnO 2 facilitated by the presence of a small amount of water. On the other hand, in the reaction system for preparation of PtRu/graphene nanocomposites, EG acts as solvent and reducing agent for reduction of PtRu nanoparticles from their precursors and reduction of graphene from graphene oxide. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterizations confirm the feasibility of the microwave-assisted reaction system to simultaneously reduce graphene oxide and to form SnO 2 or PtRu nanoparticles. The as-synthesized SnO 2 /graphene hybrid composites show a much higher supercapacitance than the pure graphene, and the as-prepared PtRu/graphene show much better electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation compared to the commercial E-TEK PtRu/C electrocatalysts.

  3. Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Prevents the Oxidative Stress Induced Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Human Aortic Endothelial Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiamin Li

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT has been shown to take part in the generation and progression of diverse diseases, involving a series of changes leading to a loss of their endothelial characteristics and an acquirement of properties typical of mesenchymal cells. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS is a new therapeutic option that has been successfully used in fracture healing. However, whether LIPUS can inhibit oxidative stress-induced endothelial cell damages through inhibiting EndMT remained unknown. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of LIPUS against oxidative stress-induced endothelial cell damages and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: EndMT was induced by H2O2 (100 µm for seven days. Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs were exposed to H2O2 with or without LIPUS treatment for seven days. The expression of EndMT markers (CD31, VE-cadherin, FSP1 and α-SMA were analyzed. The levels of total and phosphorylated PI3K and AKT proteins were detected by Western Blot analysis. Cell chemotaxis was determined by wound healing and transwell assay. Results: LIPUS relieved EndMT by decreasing ROS accumulation and increasing activation of the PI3K signaling cascade. LIPUS alleviated the migration of EndMT-derived mesenchymal-like cells through reducing extracellular matrix (ECM deposition that is associated with matrix metallopeptidase (MMP proteolytic activity and collagen production. Conclusion: LIPUS produces cytoprotective effects against oxidative injuries to endothelial cells through suppressing the oxidative stress-induced EndMT, activating the PI3K/AKT pathway under oxidative stress, and limiting cell migration and excessive ECM deposition.

  4. Evaluation of the sonosensitizing properties of nano-graphene oxide in comparison with iron oxide and gold nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beik, Jaber; Abed, Ziaeddin; Shakeri-Zadeh, Ali; Nourbakhsh, Mitra; Shiran, Mohammad Bagher

    2016-07-01

    In cancer hyperthermia, ultrasound is considered as an appropriate source of energy to achieve desired therapeutic levels of heating. It is assumed that such a heating is targeted to cancer cells by using nanoparticles as sonosensitization agents. Here, we report the sonosensitizing effects of Nano-Graphene Oxide (NGO) and compare them with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), Iron Oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). Experiments were conducted to explore the effects of nanoparticle type and concentration, as well as ultrasound power, on transient heating up of the solutions exposed by 1 MHz ultrasound. Nanoparticles concentration was selected from 0.25 to 2.5 mg/ml and the solutions were exposed by ultrasound powers from 1 to 8 W. Real time temperature monitoring was done by a thermocouple and obtained data was analyzed. Temperature profiles of various nanoparticle solutions showed the higher heating rates, in comparison to water. Heating rise was strongly depended on nanoparticles concentration and ultrasound power. AuNPs showed a superior efficiency in heat generation enhancement in comparison to IONPs and NGO. Our result supports the idea of sonosensitizing capabilities of AuNPs, IONPs, and NGO. Targeted hyperthermia may be achievable by preferential loading of tumor with nanoparticles and subsequent ultrasound irradiation.

  5. Three-Dimensional Simulation of Ultrasound-Induced Microalgal Cell Disruption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, M; Yuan, W; Hale, Andy

    2016-03-01

    The three-dimensional distribution (x, y, and z) of ultrasound-induced microalgal cell disruption in a sonochemical reactor was predicted by solving the Helmholtz equation using a three-dimensional acoustic module in the COMSOL Multiphysics software. The simulated local ultrasound pressure at any given location (x, y, and z) was found to correlate with cell disruption of a freshwater alga, Scenedesmus dimorphus, represented by the change of algal cell particle/debris concentration, chlorophyll-a fluorescence density (CAFD), and Nile red stained lipid fluorescence density (LFD), which was also validated by the model reaction of potassium iodide oxidation (the Weissler reaction). Furthermore, the effect of ultrasound power intensity and processing duration on algal cell disruption was examined to address the limitation of the model.

  6. Report on assessment of the mechanism of bacterially assisted oxidation of pyritic uranium tailings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halbert, B.B.; Scharer, J.M.; Knapp, R.A.

    1984-07-01

    The oxidation of pyritic minerals has been shown to be catalyzed by the presence of iron- and sulphur-oxidizing bacteria. Thiobacillus ferroxidans plays the most significant role in the formation and propagation of acidic conditions. Optimum growth conditions for the T. ferroxidans occurs at a temperature of 35 degrees C and pH of 2 to 3. Bacterially assisted oxidation of pyrite involves both direct and indirect contact mechanisms. The direct contact mechanism entails enzymatic oxidation of the insoluble sulphide moiety. The indirect mechanism involves bacterial oxidation of the dissolved ferrous component to the ferric state. The ferric iron, in turn, acts as the prime oxidant of pyrite and is reduced to ferrous iron. The re-oxidation of the dissolved ferrous component which is catalyzed by bacterial activity, completes the cyclic process. The rate of bacterial oxidation is affected by: the geochemistry and reactivity of the pyritic material; the amount of pyrite present in the waste material and the exposed surface area of the pyritic component; the availability of oxygen and carbon dioxide; the pH and temperature of the leach solution; and the presence (or absence) of organic inhibitors. Of the above factors, oxygen has been frequently identified as the rate limiting reactant in tailings

  7. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of colchicine compound from Colchicum haussknechtii by using response surface methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeid Khodadoust

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available In this research an ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE method was used for extraction of colchicine in root of Colchicum haussknechtii prior to high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. C. haussknechtii is used widely in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases. The root of this plant is full of colchicine that is suitable for the treatment of gout and cirrhosis and applicable in plant breeding studies to produce polyploidy. The influence of variables on the extraction method was investigated by response surface methodology (RSM and composite design (CCD to achieve maximum extraction yield of colchicine from the root of C. haussknechtii. The most suitable condition for the extraction of colchicine was found to at 40 °C temperature, 32 min extraction time, and 70:30 v/v ethanol–water mixtures with 45:1 solvent-solid ratio. Obtained results showed that there is 1.2% colchicine in the root of C. haussknechtii, so this plant could be introduced as a rich source of colchicine.

  8. Ultrasound assisted production of fatty acid methyl esters from transesterification of triglycerides with methanol in the presence of KOH catalyst: optimization, mechanism and kinetics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thanh, Le Tu; Okitsu, Kenji; Maeda, Yasuaki; Bandow, Hiroshi

    2014-03-01

    Ultrasound assisted transesterification of triglycerides (TG) with methanol in the presence of KOH catalyst was investigated, where the changes in the reactants and products (diglycerides (DG), monoglycerides (MG), fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and glycerin (GL)) concentrations were discussed to understand the reaction mechanism and kinetics under ultrasound irradiation. The optimum reaction condition for the FAME production was the concentration of KOH 1.0 wt.%, molar ratio of TG to methanol of 1:6, and irradiation time of 25 min. The rate constants during the TG transesterification with methanol into GL and FAME were estimated by a curve fitting method with simulated curves to the obtained experimental results. The rate constants of [Formula: see text] were estimated to be 0.21, 0.008, 0.23, 0.005, 0.14 and 0.001 L mol(-1)min(-1), respectively. The rate determining step for the TG transesterification with methanol into GL and FAME was the reaction of MG with methanol into GL and FAME. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Ultrasound-assisted extraction method for the simultaneous determination of emerging contaminants in freshwater sediments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Sousa, Diana Nara Ribeiro; Grosseli, Guilherme Martins; Mozeto, Antonio Aparecido; Carneiro, Renato Lajarim; Fadini, Pedro Sergio

    2015-10-01

    Sediments are the fate of several emerging organic contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products and hormones, and therefore an important subject in environmental monitoring studies. In the present work, a simple and sensitive method was developed, validated and applied for the simultaneous extraction of atenolol, caffeine, carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, propranolol, triclosan, estrone, 17-β-estradiol and 17-α-ethinylestradiol using ultrasound-assisted extraction from freshwater sediment samples followed by solid-phase extraction clean-up and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection. The solvent type and extraction pH were evaluated to obtain the highest recoveries of the compounds. The best method shows absolute recoveries between 54.0 and 94.4% at 50 ng/g concentration. The method exhibits good precision with relative standard deviation ranging from 1.0-16%. The detection and quantification limits ranged from 0.006-0.067 and 0.016-0.336 ng/g, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to freshwater sediment samples collected from different sites in Jundiaí River basin of São Paulo State, Brazil. The compounds atenolol, caffeine, propranolol and triclosan were detected in all the sampling sites with concentrations of 13.8, 41.0, 28.5 and 176 ng/g, respectively. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Selective tuning of high-Q silicon photonic crystal nanocavities via laser-assisted local oxidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Charlton J; Zheng, Jiangjun; Gu, Tingyi; McMillan, James F; Yu, Mingbin; Lo, Guo-Qiang; Kwong, Dim-Lee; Wong, Chee Wei

    2011-06-20

    We examine the cavity resonance tuning of high-Q silicon photonic crystal heterostructures by localized laser-assisted thermal oxidation using a 532 nm continuous wave laser focused to a 2.5 μm radius spot-size. The total shift is consistent with the parabolic rate law. A tuning range of up to 8.7 nm is achieved with ∼ 30 mW laser powers. Over this tuning range, the cavity Qs decreases from 3.2×10(5) to 1.2×10(5). Numerical simulations model the temperature distributions in the silicon photonic crystal membrane and the cavity resonance shift from oxidation.

  11. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of charantin from Momordica charantia fruits using response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahamad, Javed; Amin, Saima; Mir, Showkat R

    2015-01-01

    Momordica charantia Linn. (Cucurbitaceae) fruits are well known for their beneficial effects in diabetes that are often attributed to its bioactive component charantin. The aim of the present study is to develop and optimize an efficient protocol for the extraction of charantin from M. charantia fruits. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for the optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) conditions. RSM was based on a three-level, three-variable Box-Behnken design (BBD), and the studied variables included solid to solvent ratio, extraction temperature, and extraction time. The optimal conditions predicted by the BBD were: UAE with methanol: Water (80:20, v/v) at 46°C for 120 min with solid to solvent ratio of 1:26 w/v, under which the yield of charantin was 3.18 mg/g. Confirmation trials under slightly adjusted conditions yielded 3.12 ± 0.14 mg/g of charantin on dry weight basis of fruits. The result of UAE was also compared with Soxhlet extraction method and UAE was found 2.74-fold more efficient than the Soxhlet extraction for extracting charantin. A facile UAE protocol for a high extraction yield of charantin was developed and validated.

  12. Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by ZnO-reduced graphene oxide composite synthesized via microwave-assisted reaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lv Tian [Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062 (China); Pan Likun, E-mail: lkpan@phy.ecnu.edu.cn [Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062 (China); Liu Xinjuan; Lu Ting; Zhu Guang; Sun Zhuo [Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062 (China)

    2011-10-13

    Highlights: > ZnO-reduced graphene oxide composite is synthesized via microwave assisted reaction. > The method allows a facile, safe and rapid reaction in aqueous media. > A high dye degradation efficiency is achieved under UV light irradiation. - Abstract: A quick and facile microwave-assisted reaction is used to synthesize ZnO-reduced graphene oxide (RGO) hybrid composites by reducing graphite oxide dispersion with zinc nitrate using a microwave synthesis system. Their photocatalytic performance in degradation of methylene blue is investigated and the results show that the RGO plays an important role in the enhancement of photocatalytic performance and the ZnO-RGO composite with 1.1 wt. % RGO achieves a maximum degradation efficiency of 88% in a neutral solution under UV light irradiation for 260 min as compared with pure ZnO (68%) due to the increased light absorption, the reduced charge recombination with the introduction of RGO.

  13. Assessing the activity of perianal Crohn's disease: comparison of clinical indices and computer-assisted anal ultrasound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Losco, Alessandra; Viganò, Chiara; Conte, Dario; Cesana, Bruno Mario; Basilisco, Guido

    2009-05-01

    Assessing perianal disease activity is important for the treatment and prognosis of Crohn's disease (CD) patients, but the diagnostic accuracy of the activity indices has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy and agreement of the Fistula Drainage Assessment (FDA), Perianal Disease Activity Index (PDAI), and computer-assisted anal ultrasound imaging (AUS). Sixty-two consecutive patients with CD and perianal fistulae underwent clinical, FDA, PDAI, and AUS evaluation. Perianal disease was considered active in the presence of visible fistula drainage and/or signs of local inflammation (induration and pain at digital compression) upon clinical examination. The AUS images were analyzed by calculating the mean gray-scale tone of the lesion. The PDAI and gray-scale tone values discriminating active and inactive perianal disease were defined using receiver operating characteristics statistics. Perianal disease was active in 46 patients. The accuracy of the FDA was 87% (confidence interval [CI]: 76%-94%). A PDAI of >4 and a mean gray-scale tone value of 117 maximized sensitivity and specificity; their diagnostic accuracy was, respectively, 87% (CI: 76%-94%) and 81% (CI: 69%-90%). The agreement of the 3 evaluations was fair to moderate. The addition of AUS to the PDAI or FDA increased their diagnostic accuracy to respectively 95% and 98%. The diagnostic accuracy of the FDA, PDAI, and computer-assisted AUS imaging was good in assessing perianal disease activity in patients with CD. The agreement between the techniques was fair to moderate. Overall accuracy can be increased by combining the FDA or PDAI with AUS.

  14. Ultrasound-assisted extraction of arabinogalactan and dihydroquercetin simultaneously from Larix gmelinii as a pretreatment for pulping and papermaking.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunhui Ma

    Full Text Available An ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE method using ethanol was applied for extracting arabinogalactan (AG and dihydroquercetin (DHQ simultaneously from larch wood, as a pretreatment for pulping and papermaking. The extraction parameters were optimized by a Box-Behnken experimental design with the yields of AG and DHQ as the response values. Under optimum conditions (three extractions, each using 40% ethanol, for 50 min, 200 W ultrasound power and 1∶18 solid-liquid ratio, the yields of AG and DHQ were 183.4 and 36.76 mg/g, respectively. After UAE pretreated, the wood chips were used for Kraft pulping (KP and high boiling solvent pulping (HBSP. The pulping yield after pretreatment was higher than that of untreated (the pulping yields of untreated HBSP and KP were 42.37% and 39.60%, and the pulping yields of HBSP and KP after UAE-pretreated were 44.23% and 41.50% respectively, as indicated by a lower kappa number (77.91 and 27.30 for untreated HBSP and KP; 77.01 and 26.83 for UAE-pretreated HBSP and KP. Furthermore, the characteristics of paper produced from pretreated wood chips were superior to those from the untreated chips: the basis weight was lower (85.67 and 82.48 g·cm(-2 for paper from untreated KP and HBSP; 79.94 and 80.25 g·cm(-2 for paper from UAE-pretreated KP and HBSP, and the tensile strengths, tearing strengths, bursting strengths, and folding strengths were higher than these of paper after UAE-pretreated, respectively.

  15. Investigate the ultrasound energy assisted adsorption mechanism of nickel(II) ions onto modified magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles: Multivariate optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrabi, Fatemeh; Alipanahpour Dil, Ebrahim

    2017-07-01

    In present study, magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles modified with (E)-N-(2-nitrobenzylidene)-2-(2-(2-nitrophenyl)imidazolidine-1-yl) ethaneamine (CoFe 2 O 4 -NPs-NBNPIEA) was synthesized and applied as novel adsorbent for ultrasound energy assisted adsorption of nickel(II) ions (Ni 2+ ) from aqueous solution. The prepared adsorbent characterized by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The dependency of adsorption percentage to variables such as pH, initial Ni 2+ ions concentration, adsorbent mass and ultrasound time were studied with response surface methodology (RSM) by considering the desirable functions. The quadratic model between the dependent and independent variables was built. The proposed method showed good agreement between the experimental data and predictive value, and it has been successfully employed to adsorption of Ni 2+ ions from aqueous solution. Subsequently, the experimental equilibrium data at different concentration of Ni 2+ ions and 10mg amount of adsorbent mass was fitted to conventional isotherm models like Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin, Dubinin-Radushkevich and it was revealed that the Langmuir is best model for explanation of behavior of experimental data. In addition, conventional kinetic models such as pseudo-first and second-order, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion were applied and it was seen that pseudo-second-order equation is suitable to fit the experimental data. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Critical evaluation of pressurized microwave-assisted digestion efficiency using nitric acid oxidizing systems (M7)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matusiewicz, H.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: The possibilities of enhancement of a medium-pressure microwave-assisted digestion system for sample preparation in trace element analysis of biological material was investigated. Based on optimal digestion conditions for oxidizing systems with nitric acid, different digestion procedures were examined to minimize residual carbon. The substitution of nitric acid and the addition of hydrogen peroxide and ozone to nitric acid was evaluated. The residual carbon content of the digestate was determined coulometrically. Addition of hydrogen peroxide during organic oxidation reactions does not lower the resolved carbon in the solution. Ozone was tested as an additional, potentially non-contaminating, digestion/oxidation system to the nitric acid used in the sample preparation method. (author)

  17. 3D ultrasound imaging for prosthesis fabrication and diagnostic imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morimoto, A.K.; Bow, W.J.; Strong, D.S. [and others

    1995-06-01

    The fabrication of a prosthetic socket for a below-the-knee amputee requires knowledge of the underlying bone structure in order to provide pressure relief for sensitive areas and support for load bearing areas. The goal is to enable the residual limb to bear pressure with greater ease and utility. Conventional methods of prosthesis fabrication are based on limited knowledge about the patient`s underlying bone structure. A 3D ultrasound imaging system was developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The imaging system provides information about the location of the bones in the residual limb along with the shape of the skin surface. Computer assisted design (CAD) software can use this data to design prosthetic sockets for amputees. Ultrasound was selected as the imaging modality. A computer model was developed to analyze the effect of the various scanning parameters and to assist in the design of the overall system. The 3D ultrasound imaging system combines off-the-shelf technology for image capturing, custom hardware, and control and image processing software to generate two types of image data -- volumetric and planar. Both volumetric and planar images reveal definition of skin and bone geometry with planar images providing details on muscle fascial planes, muscle/fat interfaces, and blood vessel definition. The 3D ultrasound imaging system was tested on 9 unilateral below-the- knee amputees. Image data was acquired from both the sound limb and the residual limb. The imaging system was operated in both volumetric and planar formats. An x-ray CT (Computed Tomography) scan was performed on each amputee for comparison. Results of the test indicate beneficial use of ultrasound to generate databases for fabrication of prostheses at a lower cost and with better initial fit as compared to manually fabricated prostheses.

  18. Prostate Ultrasound

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Physician Resources Professions Site Index A-Z Ultrasound - Prostate Ultrasound of the prostate uses sound waves to ... Ultrasound Imaging? What is Ultrasound Imaging of the Prostate? Ultrasound is safe and painless, and produces pictures ...

  19. Removal of emerging contaminants in sewage water subjected to advanced oxidation with ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibáñez, M; Gracia-Lor, E; Bijlsma, L; Morales, E; Pastor, L; Hernández, F

    2013-09-15

    Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) based on ozone treatments, assisted by ultrasounds, have been investigated at a pilot-plant scale in order to evaluate the removal of emerging contaminants in sewage water. Around 60 emerging contaminants, mainly pharmaceuticals from different therapeutically classes and drugs of abuse, have been determined in urban wastewater samples (treated and untreated) by LC-MS/MS. In a first step, the removal efficiency of these contaminants in conventional sewage water treatment plants was evaluated. Our results indicate that most of the compounds were totally or partially removed during the treatment process of influent wastewater. Up to 30 contaminants were quantified in the influent and effluent samples analysed, being antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, cholesterol lowering statin drugs and angiotensin II receptor antagonists the most frequently detected. Regarding drugs of abuse, cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine were the most frequent. In a second step, the effectiveness of AOP in the removal of emerging contaminants remaining in the effluent was evaluated. Ozone treatments have been proven to be highly efficient in the removal, notably decreasing the concentrations for most of the emerging contaminants present in the water samples. The use of ultrasounds, alone or assisting ozone treatments, has been shown less effective, being practically unnecessary. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. The Use of Response Surface Methodology to Optimize the Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Five Anthraquinones from Rheum palmatum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xianghua Xia

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE was applied to the extraction of anthraquinones (aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion from Rheum palmatum L. The five anthraquinones were quantified and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV detection (HPLC-UV. The extraction solvent, extraction temperature and extraction time parameters, the three main factors for UAE, were optimized with response surface methodology (RSM to obtain the highest extraction efficiency. The optimal conditions were the use of 84% methanol as solvent, an extraction time of 33 min and an extraction temperature of 67 °C. Under these optimal conditions, the experimental values agreed closely with the predicted values. The analysis of variance indicated a high goodness of model fit and the success of RSM method for optimizing anthraquinones extraction in Rheum palmatum L.

  1. Solid solutions of gadolinium doped zinc oxide nanorods by combined microwave-ultrasonic irradiation assisted crystallization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiani, Armin; Dastafkan, Kamran; Obeydavi, Ali; Rahimi, Mohammad

    2017-12-01

    Nanocrystalline solid solutions consisting of un-doped and gadolinium doped zinc oxide nanorods were fabricated by a modified sol-gel process utilizing combined ultrasonic-microwave irradiations. Polyvinylpyrrolidone, diethylene glycol, and triethylenetetramine respectively as capping, structure directing, and complexing agents were used under ultrasound dynamic aging and microwave heating to obtain crystalline nanorods. Crystalline phase monitoring, lattice parameters and variation, morphology and shape, elemental analysis, functional groups, reducibility, and the oxidation state of emerged species were examined by PXRD, FESEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, micro Raman, H2-TPR, and EPR techniques. Results have verified that irradiation mechanism of gelation and crystallization reduces the reaction time, augments the crystal quality, and formation of hexagonal close pack structure of Wurtzite morphology. Besides, dissolution of gadolinium within host lattice involves lattice deformation, unit cell distortion, and angular position variation. Structure related shape and growth along with compositional purity were observed through microscopic and spectroscopic surveys. Furthermore, TPR and EPR studies elucidated more detailed behavior upon exposure to the exerted irradiations and subsequent air-annealing including the formed oxidation states and electron trapping centers, presence of gadolinium, zinc, and oxygen disarrays and defects, as well as alteration in the host unit cell via gadolinium addition.

  2. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... specific content. Related Articles and Media Sonohysterography Ultrasound - Abdomen Children's (Pediatric) Ultrasound - Abdomen Obstetric Ultrasound Ultrasound - Prostate Kidney and ...

  3. Mechanism of the protective effects of long chain n-alkyl glucopyranosides against ultrasound-induced cytolysis of HL-60 cells

    OpenAIRE

    Cheng, Jason Y.; Riesz, Peter

    2007-01-01

    Recently it has been shown that long chain (C5 to C8) n-alkyl glucopyranosides completely inhibit ultrasound-induced cytolysis [1]. This protective effect has possible applications in HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) for tumor treatment, and in ultrasound assisted drug delivery and gene therapy. n-Alkyl glucopyranosides with hexyl (5mM), heptyl (3mM), octyl (2mM) n-alkyl chains protected 100% of HL-60 cells in-vitro from 1.057 MHz ultrasound induced cytolysis under a range of conditio...

  4. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Ultrasound - Abdomen Obstetric Ultrasound Ultrasound - Prostate Kidney and Bladder Stones Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding Ovarian Cancer Images related to Ultrasound - Pelvis Sponsored by Please ...

  5. Mixing-assisted oxidative desulfurization of model sulfur compounds using polyoxometalate/H2O2 catalytic system

    OpenAIRE

    Angelo Earvin Sy Choi; Susan Roces; Nathaniel Dugos; Meng-Wei Wan

    2016-01-01

    Desulfurization of fossil fuel derived oil is needed in order to comply with environmental regulations. Dibenzothiophene and benzothiophene are among the predominant sulfur compound present in raw diesel oil. In this study, mixing-assisted oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene and benzothiophene were carried out using polyoxometalate/H2O2 systems and a phase transfer agent. The effects of reaction time (2–30 min) and temperature (30–70 °C) were examined in the oxidation of model sulfu...

  6. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Children's (Pediatric) Ultrasound - Abdomen Obstetric Ultrasound Ultrasound - Prostate Kidney and Bladder Stones Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding Ovarian Cancer Images related to Ultrasound - Pelvis Sponsored by Please ...

  7. Effects of ultrasonic assisted cooking on the chemical profiles of taste and flavor of spiced beef.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Yunhe; Kang, Dacheng; Liu, Rui; Qi, Jun; Zhou, Guanghong; Zhang, Wangang

    2018-09-01

    The objective of this study was to assess the effects of ultrasonic assisted cooking on the chemical profiles of spiced beef taste and flavor. Ultrasound power with 0 W, 400 W, 600 W, 800 W and 1000 W (frequency of 20 kHz) were used for cooking 120 min. The sodium chloride, sugar, free amino acids (FAAs), 5'-ribonucleotides, lipid oxidation, volatile flavor substance contents and electronic nose of spiced beef were determined. Results showed that ultrasonic treatment could significantly increase the content of sodium chloride in beef sample (P  0.05). With the ultrasonic treatment, the types and relative content of volatile flavor substances were significantly increased (P alcohols and ketones. However, there was no significant variation among the different ultrasound power groups (P > 0.05). This result was consistent with the measurement of electronic nose. Data points of control samples were away from ultrasonic treatment groups, while data points of different ultrasonic treatment groups were flock together. The results indicate that the application of ultrasound during cooking has a positive effect on chemical profiles of spiced beef taste and flavor, particularly for the power of 800 W. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Self-assisted GaAs nanowires with selectable number density on Silicon without oxide layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bietti, S; Somaschini, C; Esposito, L; Sanguinetti, S; Frigeri, C; Fedorov, A; Geelhaar, L

    2014-01-01

    We present the growth of self-assisted GaAs nanowires (NWs) with selectable number density on bare Si(1 1 1), not covered by the silicon oxide. We determine the number density of the NWs by initially self-assembling GaAs islands on whose top a single NW is nucleated. The number density of the initial GaAs base islands can be tuned by droplet epitaxy and the same degree of control is then transferred to the NWs. This procedure is completely performed during a single growth in an ultra-high vacuum environment and requires neither an oxide layer covering the substrate, nor any pre-patterning technique. (paper)

  9. Synthesis and application of magnetic deep eutectic solvents: Novel solvents for ultrasound assisted liquid-liquid microextraction of thiophene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khezeli, Tahere; Daneshfar, Ali

    2017-09-01

    Two novel magnetic deep eutectic solvents (MDESs), comprised of cheap and simple components named [choline chloride/phenol] [FeCl 4 ] and [choline chloride/ethylene glycol] [FeCl 4 ] were prepared and characterized by CHN elemental analysis, proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR), vibrating sample magnetometery (VSM), Raman, Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) and UV-Vis spectrometery. The extraction efficiency of the prepared MDESs has been investigated in ultrasound assisted liquid-liquid microextraction based MDES (UALLME-MDES). Briefly, MDESs were added to n-heptan containing thiophene. Then, MDESs were dispersed in n-heptane by sonication. After that, microdroplets of MDESs were collected by a magnet and the remained concentration of thiophene in n-heptane phase was analyzed by GC-FID. The results indicated that [choline chloride/phenol] [FeCl 4 ] has higher extraction efficiency than [choline chloride/ethylene glycol] [FeCl 4 ]. This work opens a new way to the application of MDESs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Composition of highly concentrated silicate electrolytes and ultrasound influencing the plasma electrolytic oxidation of magnesium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simchen, F.; Rymer, L.-M.; Sieber, M.; Lampke, T.

    2017-03-01

    Magnesium and its alloys are increasingly in use as lightweight construction materials. However, their inappropriate corrosion and wear resistance often prevent their direct practical use. The plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) is a promising, environmentally friendly method to improve the surface characteristics of magnesium materials by the formation of oxide coatings. These PEO layers contain components of the applied electrolyte and can be shifted in their composition by increasing the concentration of the electrolyte constituents. Therefore, in contrast to the use of conventional low concentrated electrolytes, the process results in more stable protective coatings, in which electrolyte species are the dominating constitutes. In the present work, the influence of the composition of highly concentrated alkaline silicate electrolytes with additives of phosphate and glycerol on the quality of PEO layers on the magnesium alloy AZ31 was examined. The effect of ultrasound coupled into the electrolyte bath was also considered. The process was monitored by recording the electrical process variables with a transient recorder and by observation of the discharge phenomena on the sample surface with a camera. The study was conducted on the basis of a design of experiments. The effects of the process parameter variation are considered with regard to the coatings thickness, hardness and corrosion resistance. Information about the statistical significance of the effects of the parameters on the considered properties is obtained by an analysis of variance (ANOVA).

  11. Ultrasound assisted synthesis of morphology tunable rGO:ZnO hybrid nanostructures and their optical and UV-A light driven photocatalysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thangaraj, Pandiyarajan, E-mail: rtpandiyarajan@gmail.com [Advanced Ceramics and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Materials Engineering, University of Concepcion (Chile); Ramalinga Viswanathan, Mangalaraja, E-mail: mangal@udec.cl [Advanced Ceramics and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Materials Engineering, University of Concepcion (Chile); Balasubramanian, Karthikeyan [Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 620015 (India); Mansilla, Héctor D. [Departament of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, University of Concepcion (Chile); Contreras, David [Departament of Analytical and Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Center for Biotechnology, University of Concepcion (Chile); Sepulveda-Guzman, Selene [Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, FIME, Ave. Pedro de Alba s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P.66455 San Nicolás de los Garza, N.L. (Mexico); Gracia-Pinilla, M.A. [Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Físico-Matemáticas, Av. Universidad, Cd. Universitaria, San Nicolás de los Garza, NL (Mexico); Centro de Investigación en Innovación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, PIIT, Apodaca, Nuevo León 66600 (Mexico)

    2017-06-15

    Controlling size and shape of hybrid nanostructures is technologically important because of the strong effect of nanostructure dimension and morphology on optoelectronic, biosensors and catalytic properties. Here, we have demonstrated a simple strategy for simultaneous control of morphology, defect engineering and photocatalytic activities of reduced graphene oxide:zinc oxide (rGO:ZnO) hybrid nanostructures which were prepared by using low frequency (42 kHz) ultrasound. By varying the solvents, the morphology of ZnO gradually evolved from spherical shape to a star like nature and the ZnO nanoparticles decorated on reduced graphene oxide were clearly observed in the TEM analysis. Absorption, photoluminescence, Raman and FTIR spectra clearly indicated the formation of rGO:ZnO hybrid nanostructures. Thermal analysis revealed that the hybrid nanostructures exhibited a good thermal stability. The synergistic integration of the unique morphology and size imparts the rGO:ZnO hybrid nanostructures with remarkably enhanced photocatalytic efficiency when compared with bare ZnO. The enhanced photocatalytic behaviour of the rGO:ZnO composite has been discussed in details herein. Simple and facile synthesis route demonstrated the potential for the utilization of rGO:ZnO hybrid nanostructures with unique properties for environmental engineering applications.

  12. Ultrasound coupled with Fenton oxidation pre-treatment of sludge to release organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gong, Changxiu [School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Jiang, Jianguo, E-mail: jianguoj@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn [School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety, Ministry of Education of China (China); Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Li, De' an [School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2015-11-01

    We focused on the effects of ultrasound and Fenton reagent in ultrasonic coupling Fenton oxidation (U + F) pre-treatment processes on the disintegration of wastewater treatment plant sludge. The results demonstrated that U + F treatment could significantly increase soluble COD, TOC, total N, proteins, total P and PO{sub 4}{sup 3−} concentrations in sludge supernatant. This method was more effective than ultrasonic (U) or Fenton oxidation (F) treatment alone. U + F treatment increased the soluble COD by 2.1- and 1.4-fold compared with U and F alone, respectively. U + F treatment increased the total N and P by 1.7- and 2.2-fold, respectively, compared with F alone. After U + F treatment, sludge showed a considerably finer particle size and looser microstructure based on scanning electron microscopy, and the highest OH· signal intensity increased from 568.7 by F treatment to 1106.3 using electron spin resonance. This demonstrated that U + F treatment induces disintegration of sludge and release of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus better. - Highlights: • Combined ultrasound–Fenton pre-treatment was proposed for sludge disintegration. • Ultrasound–Fenton significantly increased carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus release. • Higher level of OH· was detected after combined disintegration than Fenton.

  13. Ultrasound coupled with Fenton oxidation pre-treatment of sludge to release organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gong, Changxiu; Jiang, Jianguo; Li, De'an

    2015-01-01

    We focused on the effects of ultrasound and Fenton reagent in ultrasonic coupling Fenton oxidation (U + F) pre-treatment processes on the disintegration of wastewater treatment plant sludge. The results demonstrated that U + F treatment could significantly increase soluble COD, TOC, total N, proteins, total P and PO 4 3− concentrations in sludge supernatant. This method was more effective than ultrasonic (U) or Fenton oxidation (F) treatment alone. U + F treatment increased the soluble COD by 2.1- and 1.4-fold compared with U and F alone, respectively. U + F treatment increased the total N and P by 1.7- and 2.2-fold, respectively, compared with F alone. After U + F treatment, sludge showed a considerably finer particle size and looser microstructure based on scanning electron microscopy, and the highest OH· signal intensity increased from 568.7 by F treatment to 1106.3 using electron spin resonance. This demonstrated that U + F treatment induces disintegration of sludge and release of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus better. - Highlights: • Combined ultrasound–Fenton pre-treatment was proposed for sludge disintegration. • Ultrasound–Fenton significantly increased carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus release. • Higher level of OH· was detected after combined disintegration than Fenton

  14. Ionic liquids-lithium salts pretreatment followed by ultrasound-assisted extraction of vitexin-4″-O-glucoside, vitexin-2″-O-rhamnoside and vitexin from Phyllostachys edulis leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Kexin; Chen, Fengli; Zu, Yuangang; Yang, Lei

    2016-01-29

    An efficient method for the extraction of vitexin, vitexin-4″-O-glucoside, and vitexin-2″-O-rhamnoside from Phyllostachys edulis leaves comprises heat treatment using an ionic liquid-lithium salt mixture (using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide as the solvent and lithium chloride as the additive), followed by ultrasound-assisted extraction. To obtain higher extraction yields, the effects of the relevant experimental parameters (including heat treatment temperature and time, relative amounts of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide and lithium chloride, power and time of the ultrasound irradiation, and the liquid-solid ratio) are evaluated and response surface methodology is used to optimize the significant factors. The morphologies of the treated and untreated P. edulis leaves are studied by scanning electron microscopy. The improved extraction method proposed provides high extraction yield, good repeatability and precision, and has wide potential applications in the analysis of plant samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Streaming flow from ultrasound contrast agents by acoustic waves in a blood vessel model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Eunjin; Chung, Sang Kug; Rhee, Kyehan

    2015-09-01

    To elucidate the effects of streaming flow on ultrasound contrast agent (UCA)-assisted drug delivery, streaming velocity fields from sonicated UCA microbubbles were measured using particle image velocimetry (PIV) in a blood vessel model. At the beginning of ultrasound sonication, the UCA bubbles formed clusters and translated in the direction of the ultrasound field. Bubble cluster formation and translation were faster with 2.25MHz sonication, a frequency close to the resonance frequency of the UCA. Translation of bubble clusters induced streaming jet flow that impinged on the vessel wall, forming symmetric vortices. The maximum streaming velocity was about 60mm/s at 2.25MHz and decreased to 15mm/s at 1.0MHz for the same acoustic pressure amplitude. The effect of the ultrasound frequency on wall shear stress was more noticeable. Maximum wall shear stress decreased from 0.84 to 0.1Pa as the ultrasound frequency decreased from 2.25 to 1.0MHz. The maximum spatial gradient of the wall shear stress also decreased from 1.0 to 0.1Pa/mm. This study showed that streaming flow was induced by bubble cluster formation and translation and was stronger upon sonication by an acoustic wave with a frequency near the UCA resonance frequency. Therefore, the secondary radiant force, which is much stronger at the resonance frequency, should play an important role in UCA-assisted drug delivery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Prehospital Ultrasound

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jen-Tang Sun

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Ultrasound is a commonly used diagnostic tool in clinical conditions. With recent developments in technology, use of portable ultrasound devices has become feasible in prehospital settings. Many studies also proved the feasibility and accuracy of prehospital ultrasound. In this article, we focus on the use of prehospital ultrasound, with emphasis on trauma and chest ultrasound.

  17. A novel graphical user interface for ultrasound-guided shoulder arthroscopic surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyryshkin, K.; Mousavi, P.; Beek, M.; Pichora, D.; Abolmaesumi, P.

    2007-03-01

    This paper presents a novel graphical user interface developed for a navigation system for ultrasound-guided computer-assisted shoulder arthroscopic surgery. The envisioned purpose of the interface is to assist the surgeon in determining the position and orientation of the arthroscopic camera and other surgical tools within the anatomy of the patient. The user interface features real time position tracking of the arthroscopic instruments with an optical tracking system, and visualization of their graphical representations relative to a three-dimensional shoulder surface model of the patient, created from computed tomography images. In addition, the developed graphical interface facilitates fast and user-friendly intra-operative calibration of the arthroscope and the arthroscopic burr, capture and segmentation of ultrasound images, and intra-operative registration. A pilot study simulating the computer-aided shoulder arthroscopic procedure on a shoulder phantom demonstrated the speed, efficiency and ease-of-use of the system.

  18. Multilayered metal oxide thin film gas sensors obtained by conventional and RF plasma-assisted laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitu, B.; Marotta, V.; Orlando, S.

    2006-01-01

    Multilayered thin films of In 2 O 3 and SnO 2 have been deposited by conventional and RF plasma-assisted reactive pulsed laser ablation, with the aim to evaluate their behaviour as toxic gas sensors. The depositions have been carried out by a frequency doubled Nd-YAG laser (λ = 532 nm, τ = 7 ns) on Si(1 0 0) substrates, in O 2 atmosphere. The thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrical resistance measurements. A comparison of the electrical response of the simple (indium oxide, tin oxide) and multilayered oxides to toxic gas (nitric oxide, NO) has been performed. The influence on the structural and electrical properties of the deposition parameters, such as substrate temperature and RF power is reported

  19. Microwave-assisted synthesis of metal oxide/hydroxide composite electrodes for high power supercapacitors - A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faraji, Soheila; Ani, Farid Nasir

    2014-10-01

    Electrochemical capacitors (ECs), also known as pseudocapacitors or supercapacitors (SCs), is receiving great attention for its potential applications in electric and hybrid electric vehicles because of their ability to store energy, alongside with the advantage of delivering the stored energy much more rapidly than batteries, namely power density. To become primary devices for power supply, supercapacitors must be developed further to improve their ability to deliver high energy and power simultaneously. In this concern, a lot of effort is devoted to the investigation of pseudocapacitive transition-metal-based oxides/hydroxides such as ruthenium oxide, manganese oxide, cobalt oxide, nickel oxide, cobalt hydroxide, nickel hydroxide, and mixed metal oxides/hydroxides such as nickel cobaltite and nickel-cobalt oxy-hydroxides. This is mainly due to the fact that they can produce much higher specific capacitances than typical carbon-based electric double-layer capacitors and electronically conducting polymers. This review presents supercapacitor performance data of metal oxide thin film electrodes by microwave-assisted as an inexpensive, quick and versatile technique. Supercapacitors have established the specific capacitance (Cs) principles, therefore, it is likely that metal oxide films will continue to play a major role in supercapacitor technology and are expected to considerably increase the capabilities of these devices in near future.

  20. Transesterification of Waste Frying Oil and Soybean Oil by Combi-lipases Under Ultrasound-Assisted Reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poppe, Jakeline Kathiele; Matte, Carla Roberta; Fernandez-Lafuente, Roberto; Rodrigues, Rafael C; Ayub, Marco Antônio Záchia

    2018-04-21

    This work describes the use of an ultrasound system for the enzymatic transesterification of oils using combi-lipases as biocatalyst. The reactions were carried out evaluating the individual use of waste oil and fresh soybean oil, and the immobilized lipases CALB, TLL, and RML were used as biocatalysts. It was performed in a mixture design of three factors to obtain the ideal mixture of lipases according to the composition of fatty acids present in each oil, and the main reaction variables were optimized. After 18 h of reaction, ultrasound provided a biodiesel yield of about 90% when using soybean oil and 70% using the waste oil. The results showed that ultrasound technology, in combination with the application of enzyme mixtures, known as combi-lipases, and the use of waste oil, could be a promising route to reduce the overall process costs of enzymatic production of biodiesel.

  1. Microwave assisted facile hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide flower grown on graphene oxide sheets for enhanced photodegradation of dyes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashinath, L.; Namratha, K.; Byrappa, K.

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Synthesis of hybrid ZnO–GO nanocomposite via microwave assisted facile hydrothermal method. • The in situ flower like ZnO nano particles are densely decorated and anchored on the surfaces of graphene oxide sheets. • They exhibited high adsorption measurement, increase in surface area and meso/micro porous in nature. • The structure and morphology plays a vital role in enhancing the photo response activities of degradation of dyes. - Abstract: Microwave assisted hydrothermal process of synthesis of ZnO–GO nanocomposite by using ZnCl 2 and NaOH as precursors is being reported first time. In this investigation, a novel route to study on synthesis, interaction, kinetics and mechanism of hybrid zinc oxide–graphene oxide (ZnO–GO) nanocomposite using microwave assisted facile hydrothermal method has been reported. The results shows that the ZnO–GO nanocomposite exhibits an enhancement and acts as stable photo-response degradation performance of Brilliant Yellow under the UV light radiation better than pure GO and ZnO nanoparticles. The microwave exposure played a vital role in the synthesis process, it facilitates with well define crystalline structure, porosity and fine morphology of ZnO/GO nanocomposite. Different molar concentrations of ZnO precursors doped to GO sheets were been synthesized, characterized and their photodegradation performances were investigated. The optical studies by UV–vis and Photo Luminescence shows an increase in band gap of nanocomposite, which added an advantage in photodegradation performance. The in situ flower like ZnO nano particles are were densely decorated and anchored on the surfaces of graphene oxide sheets which aids in the enhancement of the surface area, adsorption, mass transfer of dyes and evolution of oxygen species. The nanocomposite having high surface area and micro/mesoporous in nature. This structure and morphology supports significantly in increasing photo catalytic

  2. Ultrasound automated volume calculation in reproduction and in pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ata, Baris; Tulandi, Togas

    2011-06-01

    To review studies assessing the application of ultrasound automated volume calculation in reproductive medicine. We performed a literature search using the keywords "SonoAVC, sonography-based automated volume calculation, automated ultrasound, 3D ultrasound, antral follicle, follicle volume, follicle monitoring, follicle tracking, in vitro fertilization, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, embryo volume, embryonic volume, gestational sac, and fetal volume" and conducted the search in PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Reference lists of identified reports were manually searched for other relevant publications. Automated volume measurements are in very good agreement with actual volumes of the assessed structures or with other validated measurement methods. The technique seems to provide reliable and highly reproducible results under a variety of conditions. Automated measurements take less time than manual measurements. Ultrasound automated volume calculation is a promising new technology which is already used in daily practice especially for assisted reproduction. Improvements to the technology will undoubtedly render it more effective and increase its use. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Ultrasound - Pelvis Ultrasound imaging of the pelvis uses sound waves to produce pictures of the structures and ... pictures of the inside of the body using sound waves. Ultrasound imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or ...

  4. Prostate Ultrasound

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... ultrasound or with a rectal examination, an ultrasound-guided biopsy can be performed. This procedure involves advancing ... of the Prostate) Prostate Cancer Ultrasound- and MRI-Guided Prostate Biopsy Images related to Ultrasound - Prostate Sponsored ...

  5. Detection of magnetic nanoparticles in tissue using magneto-motive ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Junghwan; Feldman, Marc D; Kim, Jeehyun; Condit, Chris; Emelianov, Stanislav; Milner, Thomas E

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the magneto-motive ultrasonic detection of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles as a marker of macrophage recruitment in tissue. The capability of ultrasound to detect SPIO nanoparticles (core diameter ∼20 nm) taken up by murine liver macrophages was investigated. Eight mice were sacrificed two days after the intravenous administration of four SPIO doses (1.5, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.1 mmol Fe/kg body weight). In the iron-laden livers, ultrasound Doppler measurements showed a frequency shift in response to an applied time-varying magnetic field. M-mode scan and colour power Doppler images of the iron-laden livers also demonstrated nanoparticle movement under focused magnetic field excitation. In the livers of two saline injected control mice, no movement was observed using any ultrasound imaging modes. The results of our experiments indicate that ultrasound imaging of magneto-motive excitation is a candidate imaging modality to identify tissue-based macrophages containing SPIO nanoparticles

  6. Prostate Ultrasound

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Z Ultrasound - Prostate Ultrasound of the prostate uses sound waves to produce pictures of a man’s prostate ... pictures of the inside of the body using sound waves. Ultrasound imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or ...

  7. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... endometrial polyps fibroids cancer, especially in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding Some physicians also use 3-D ultrasound or ... Obstetric Ultrasound Ultrasound - Prostate Kidney and Bladder Stones Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding Ovarian Cancer Images related to Ultrasound - Pelvis Sponsored ...

  8. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... endometrial polyps fibroids cancer, especially in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding Some physicians also use 3-D ultrasound or ... Obstetric Ultrasound Ultrasound - Prostate Kidney and Bladder Stones Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding Ovarian Cancer Images related to Ultrasound - Pelvis Sponsored ...

  9. Study on text mining algorithm for ultrasound examination of chronic liver diseases based on spectral clustering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Bingguo; Chen, Xiaofei

    2018-05-01

    Ultrasonography is an important examination for the diagnosis of chronic liver disease. The doctor gives the liver indicators and suggests the patient's condition according to the description of ultrasound report. With the rapid increase in the amount of data of ultrasound report, the workload of professional physician to manually distinguish ultrasound results significantly increases. In this paper, we use the spectral clustering method to cluster analysis of the description of the ultrasound report, and automatically generate the ultrasonic diagnostic diagnosis by machine learning. 110 groups ultrasound examination report of chronic liver disease were selected as test samples in this experiment, and the results were validated by spectral clustering and compared with k-means clustering algorithm. The results show that the accuracy of spectral clustering is 92.73%, which is higher than that of k-means clustering algorithm, which provides a powerful ultrasound-assisted diagnosis for patients with chronic liver disease.

  10. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of charantin from Momordica charantia fruits using response surface methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javed Ahamad

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Momordica charantia Linn. (Cucurbitaceae fruits are well known for their beneficial effects in diabetes that are often attributed to its bioactive component charantin. Objective: The aim of the present study is to develop and optimize an efficient protocol for the extraction of charantin from M. charantia fruits. Materials and Methods: Response surface methodology (RSM was used for the optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE conditions. RSM was based on a three-level, three-variable Box-Behnken design (BBD, and the studied variables included solid to solvent ratio, extraction temperature, and extraction time. Results: The optimal conditions predicted by the BBD were: UAE with methanol: Water (80:20, v/v at 46°C for 120 min with solid to solvent ratio of 1:26 w/v, under which the yield of charantin was 3.18 mg/g. Confirmation trials under slightly adjusted conditions yielded 3.12 ± 0.14 mg/g of charantin on dry weight basis of fruits. The result of UAE was also compared with Soxhlet extraction method and UAE was found 2.74-fold more efficient than the Soxhlet extraction for extracting charantin. Conclusions:A facile UAE protocol for a high extraction yield of charantin was developed and validated.

  11. Mapping of an ultrasonic bath for ultrasound assisted extraction of mangiferin from Mangifera indica leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkarni, Vrushali M; Rathod, Virendra K

    2014-03-01

    The present work deals with the mapping of an ultrasonic bath for the maximum extraction of mangiferin from Mangifera indica leaves. I3(-) liberation experiments (chemical transformations) and extraction (physical transformations) were carried out at different locations in an ultrasonic bath and compared. The experimental findings indicated a similar trend in variation in an ultrasonic bath by both these methods. Various parameters such as position and depth of vessel in an ultrasonic bath, diameter and shape of a vessel, frequency and input power which affect the extraction yield have been studied in detail. Maximum yield of mangiferin obtained was approximately 31 mg/g at optimized parameters: distance of 2.54 cm above the bottom of the bath, 7 cm diameter of vessel, flat bottom vessel, 6.35 cm liquid height, 122 W input power and 25 kHz frequency. The present work indicates that the position and depth of vessel in an ultrasonic bath, diameter and shape of a vessel, frequency and input power have significant effect on the extraction yield. This work can be used as a base for all ultrasonic baths to obtain maximum efficiency for ultrasound assisted extraction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Formation of silicon Oxide nano thickness on Si (III) with the assistance of Cs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahari, A.; Bagheri, M.

    2006-01-01

    : The possibility of controlling the growth of a uniform ultra thin oxide on silicon via oxygen dosing at low temperatures, would be a great interest for the projected further development of nano electronics. One way to achieve this is to be able to control the conversion of chemically adsorbed oxygen and retained at room temperature into oxide during subsequent heating. Oxygen is chemisorbed at room temperature on Si(111) surface to saturation ( >100 L O 2 ), and the experimental chamber is then evacuated. This leaves adsorbed oxygen as atomically inserted on Si surface which sits on the back bonds. This surface is then used as a base for further processing which in one case consists of annealing to 600- 700 d eg C and subsequent exposures equivalent to the first step. This is repeated again. As the focus of this work, a series of experiments are done with adsorbed Cs, which assists in retaining oxygen and in transforming the adsorbed oxygen into oxide upon heating. It was found that the oxide formed on the surface at low coverage clusters. Without any external influence, the clusters may be made to coalesce upon further oxygen adsorption at room temperature, and annealing terminates as a continuous monolayer of amorphous oxide on top of a well-ordered silicon substrate. This configuration is inert to further uptake of oxygen. A higher oxide thickness could be obtained with Cs. Also in this case, the oxide growth saturates in an inert oxide Iayer

  13. Multivariate optimization of an ultrasound-assisted extraction procedure for Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn determination in ration to chickens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JOELIA M. BARROS

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available In this work, multivariate optimization techniques were used to develop a method based on the ultrasound-assisted extraction for copper, manganese, nickel and zinc determination from rations for chicken nutrition using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The proportions of extracting components (2.0 mol.L–1 nitric, hydrochloric and acetic acid solutions were optimized using centroid-simplex mixture design. The optimum proportions of this mixture taken as percentage of each component were respectively 20%, 37% and 43%. Variables of method (sample mass, sonication time and final acid concentration were optimized using Doehlert design. The optimum values found for these variables were respectively 0.24 g, 18s and 3.6 mol.L–1. The developed method allows copper, manganese, nickel and zinc determination with quantification limits of 2.82; 4.52; 10.7; e 9.69 µg.g–1, and precision expressed as relative standard deviation (%RSD, 25 µg.g–1, N = 5 of 5.30; 2.13; 0.88; and 0.83%, respectively. This method was applied in the analytes determination from chicken rations collected from specialized commerce in Jequié city (Bahia State/Brazil. Application of paired t-test at the obtained results, in a confidence level of 95%, does not show significant difference between the proposed method and the microwave-assisted digestion.

  14. Ultrasound assisted extraction of polyphenols and their distribution in whole mung bean, hull and cotyledon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Barinderjit; Singh, Narpinder; Thakur, Sheetal; Kaur, Amritpal

    2017-03-01

    In this study, extraction of polyphenols using different solvents (acetone, ethanol, methanol and water) with ultrasound and conventional method from whole mung bean (WMB), hull and cotyledon was conducted. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFC), total antioxidant activities (TAA), ferric reducing power (FRP) and DPPH radical scavenging activity were determined. Ultrasound treated extracts exhibited higher TPC, TFC, TAA, FRP and DPPH in different mung bean fractions than CSE. Among the solvents, acetone showed better TPC, TFC, TAA, FRP and DPPH. Hull had significantly higher TPC, TFC, TAA, FRP and DPPH than WMB and cotyledon. Sinapic acid (SA) was the major polyphenol in different fractions. Acetone extract of hull showed high polyphenol content. SA, ferulic acid, catechin, p-coumaric acid, resveratrol, quercetin and luteolin were the major contributors to antioxidant activity of acetone extract. Mung bean hull contained the maximum polyphenols and acetone was observed to be the best extraction medium for polyphenols in combination with ultrasound.

  15. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Radiation Therapy for Gynecologic Cancers Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer top of page This page was reviewed on ... Abdomen Children's (Pediatric) Ultrasound - Abdomen Obstetric Ultrasound Ultrasound - Prostate Kidney and Bladder Stones Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding ... Images related to Ultrasound - Pelvis Sponsored by Please ...

  16. Impact of environmental tobacco smoke exposure in women on oxidative stress in the antral follicle and assisted reproduction outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazemi, Ashraf; Ramezanzadeh, Fatemeh; Esfahani, Mohammad Hosein Nasr; Saboor-Yaraghi, Ali Akbar; Nejat, Saharnaz; Rahimi-Foroshani, Abbas

    2013-08-01

    Cigarette smoke contains many oxidants and may alter the human reproduction by inducing oxidative stress (OS) in both active and passive smokers. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure on oxidative stress in the follicular fluid and the assisted reproduction outcomes. An observational prospective study was carried out on 236 infertile women, who underwent assisted reproduction cycles. The ETS exposure was assessed using self-reported ETS exposure and the cotinine level in follicular fluid. To evaluate the OS in follicular fluid (FF) malon-di-aldehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were measured. The number of retrieved oocytes, rate of metaphase II stage oocytes, fertilization rate, good cleavage rate, and no-fragmented embryo rate were considered as the assisted reproduction outcomes. The results were adjusted for age, body mass index, duration, and etiology of infertility; P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. The MDA and TAC levels in FF were not related to the self-report number of the weekly ETS exposure and cotinine levels in FF. Also, the number of retrieved oocytes, MII stage oocytes, fertilization rate, good cleavage rate, and no-fragmented embryo rate were not related to the cotinine level and weekly ETS exposure. However, in women whose cotinine levels in FF were lower and equal/above 3.5 ng/ml, the number of retrieved oocytes was higher (12.63 ± .71 vs. 9.28 ± 1.11, P = 0.01). The relationship between the MDA level and cleavage rate (Beta = -18.5, confidence interval-34.9 and-2.1, P assisted reproduction success by influencing the number of available oocytes. Although, the OS in a follicular environment affect the ability of oocytes to reach the specific cleavage stages at appropriate time intervals, it does not mediate poor-assisted reproduction outcomes due to ETS exposure.

  17. Augmented Reality Using Transurethral Ultrasound for Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy: Preclinical Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanchon, Cecilia; Custillon, Guillaume; Moreau-Gaudry, Alexandre; Descotes, Jean-Luc; Long, Jean-Alexandre; Fiard, Gaelle; Voros, Sandrine

    2016-07-01

    To guide the surgeon during laparoscopic or robot-assisted radical prostatectomy an innovative laparoscopic/ultrasound fusion platform was developed using a motorized 3-dimensional transurethral ultrasound probe. We present what is to our knowledge the first preclinical evaluation of 3-dimensional prostate visualization using transurethral ultrasound and the preliminary results of this new augmented reality. The transurethral probe and laparoscopic/ultrasound registration were tested on realistic prostate phantoms made of standard polyvinyl chloride. The quality of transurethral ultrasound images and the detection of passive markers placed on the prostate surface were evaluated on 2-dimensional dynamic views and 3-dimensional reconstructions. The feasibility, precision and reproducibility of laparoscopic/transurethral ultrasound registration was then determined using 4, 5, 6 and 7 markers to assess the optimal amount needed. The root mean square error was calculated for each registration and the median root mean square error and IQR were calculated according to the number of markers. The transurethral ultrasound probe was easy to manipulate and the prostatic capsule was well visualized in 2 and 3 dimensions. Passive markers could precisely be localized in the volume. Laparoscopic/transurethral ultrasound registration procedures were performed on 74 phantoms of various sizes and shapes. All were successful. The median root mean square error of 1.1 mm (IQR 0.8-1.4) was significantly associated with the number of landmarks (p = 0.001). The highest accuracy was achieved using 6 markers. However, prostate volume did not affect registration precision. Transurethral ultrasound provided high quality prostate reconstruction and easy marker detection. Laparoscopic/ultrasound registration was successful with acceptable mm precision. Further investigations are necessary to achieve sub mm accuracy and assess feasibility in a human model. Copyright © 2016 American Urological

  18. Ultrasonically assisted hydrothermal synthesis of activated carbon-HKUST-1-MOF hybrid for efficient simultaneous ultrasound-assisted removal of ternary organic dyes and antibacterial investigation: Taguchi optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azad, F Nasiri; Ghaedi, M; Dashtian, K; Hajati, S; Pezeshkpour, V

    2016-07-01

    Activated carbon (AC) composite with HKUST-1 metal organic framework (AC-HKUST-1 MOF) was prepared by ultrasonically assisted hydrothermal method and characterized by FTIR, SEM and XRD analysis and laterally was applied for the simultaneous ultrasound-assisted removal of crystal violet (CV), disulfine blue (DSB) and quinoline yellow (QY) dyes in their ternary solution. In addition, this material, was screened in vitro for their antibacterial actively against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) bacteria. In dyes removal process, the effects of important variables such as initial concentration of dyes, adsorbent mass, pH and sonication time on adsorption process optimized by Taguchi approach. Optimum values of 4, 0.02 g, 4 min, 10 mg L(-1) were obtained for pH, AC-HKUST-1 MOF mass, sonication time and the concentration of each dye, respectively. At the optimized condition, the removal percentages of CV, DSB and QY were found to be 99.76%, 91.10%, and 90.75%, respectively, with desirability of 0.989. Kinetics of adsorption processes follow pseudo-second-order model. The Langmuir model as best method with high applicability for representation of experimental data, while maximum mono layer adsorption capacity for CV, DSB and QY on AC-HKUST-1 estimated to be 133.33, 129.87 and 65.37 mg g(-1) which significantly were higher than HKUST-1 as sole material with Qm to equate 59.45, 57.14 and 38.80 mg g(-1), respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Microwave-assisted synthesis of Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles@reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for high performance supercapacitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    She, Xiao; Zhang, Xinmin; Liu, Jingya [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430073 (China); Li, Liang, E-mail: msell08@163.com [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430073 (China); Yu, Xianghua; Huang, Zhiliang [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430073 (China); Shang, Songmin, E-mail: shang.songmin@polyu.edu.hk [Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China)

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4}@rGO nanocomposites were prepared by one-step microwave-assisted method. • The growth of Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4} and the reduction of graphene oxide occurred simultaneously. • Specific capacitance of the nanocomposite is higher than those of rGO and Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4}. • The nanocomposites have good rate capability and cycling stability. - ABSTRACT: One-step microwave-assisted synthetic route for the fabrication of Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles@reduced graphene oxide (Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4}@rGO) nanocomposites has been demonstrated. The morphological structures of the nanocomposites are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. All of the results indicate that the microwave-assisted synthesis results in the growth of Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4} and the reduction of graphene oxide simultaneously in ethylene glycol-water system. The specific capacitance of the as-prepared Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4}@rGO nanocomposite is higher than those of rGO and pure Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4}, which indicates the synergetic interaction between rGO and Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4}. The nanocomposites also have good rate capability and cycling stability in electrochemical experiments. This facile technique may be extended to the large scale and cost effective production of other composites based on graphene and metal oxide for many applications.

  20. Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic compounds, antioxidants and rosmarinic acid from perilla leaves using response surface methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Zhen LI

    Full Text Available Abstract Response surface methodology (RSM was used to optimize ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE of functional components from perilla leaves. The factors investigated were ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, and extraction time. The results revealed that ethanol concentration had significant effects on all extraction parameters. Based on the RSM results, the optimal conditions were an ethanol concentration of 56%, a UAE temperature of 54 °C, and a UAE time of 55 min. Under these conditions, the experimental TPC (total phenolic content, RA (rosmarinic acid, FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl values were 48.85 mg GAE/g DW (mg gallic acid equivalent /g of dry weight, 31.02 mg/g DW, 85.55 μmol Fe2+/g DW and 73.35%, respectively. The experimental values were in agreement with those predicted by RSM models, confirming suitability of the model employed and the success of RSM for optimization of the extraction conditions.

  1. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... inserted into a man's rectum to view the prostate. Transvaginal ultrasound. The transducer is inserted into a ... Stenting Ultrasound-Guided Breast Biopsy Obstetric Ultrasound Ultrasound - Prostate Biopsies - Overview Images related to General Ultrasound Videos ...

  2. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... News Physician Resources Professions Site Index A-Z General Ultrasound Ultrasound imaging uses sound waves to produce ... the limitations of General Ultrasound Imaging? What is General Ultrasound Imaging? Ultrasound is safe and painless, and ...

  3. Excimer laser assisted re-oxidation of BaTiO3 thin films on Ni metal foils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bharadwaja, S. S. N.; Ko, S. W.; Qu, W.; Clark, T.; Rajashekhar, A.; Motyka, M.; Podraza, N.; Randall, C. A.; Trolier-McKinstry, S.

    2016-01-01

    Excimer laser assisted re-oxidation for reduced, crystallized BaTiO 3 thin films on Ni-foils was investigated. It was found that the BaTiO 3 can be re-oxidized at an oxygen partial pressure of ∼50 mTorr and substrate temperature of 350 °C without forming a NiO x interface layer between the film and base metal foil. The dielectric permittivity of re-oxidized films was >1000 with loss tangent values <2% at 100 Hz, 30 mV rms excitation signal. Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy indicated that BaTiO 3 thin films can be re-oxidized to an oxygen stoichiometry close to ∼3 (e.g., stoichiometric). High resolution cross sectional transmission electron microscopy showed no evidence of NiO x formation between the BaTiO 3 and the Ni foil upon excimer laser re-oxidation. Spectroscopic ellipsometry studies on laser re-oxidized [001] C and [111] C BaTiO 3 single crystals indicate that the re-oxidation of BaTiO 3 single crystals is augmented by photo-excitation of the ozone, as well as laser pulse induced temperature and local stress gradients

  4. Rapid synthesis of tin oxide nanostructures by microwave-assisted thermal oxidation for sensor applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phadungdhitidhada, S.; Ruankham, P.; Gardchareon, A.; Wongratanaphisan, D.; Choopun, S.

    2017-09-01

    In the present work nanostructures of tin oxides were synthesized by a microwave-assisted thermal oxidation. Tin precursor powder was loaded into a cylindrical quartz tube and further radiated in a microwave oven. The as-synthesized products were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and x-ray diffractometer. The results showed that two different morphologies of SnO2 microwires (MWs) and nanoparticles (NPs) were obtained in one minute of microwave radiation under atmospheric ambient. A few tens of the SnO2 MWs with the length of 10-50 µm were found. Some parts of the MWs were decorated with the SnO2 NPs. However, most of the products were SnO2 NPs with the diameter ranging from 30-200 nm. Preparation under loosely closed system lead to mixed phase SnO-SnO2 NPs with diameter of 30-200 nm. The single-phase of SnO2 could be obtained by mixing the Sn precursor powders with CuO2. The products were mostly found to be SnO2 nanowires (NWs) and MWs. The diameter of SnO2 NWs was less than 50 nm. The SnO2 NPs, MWs, and NWs were in the cassiterite rutile structure phase. The SnO NPs was in the tetragonal structure phase. The growth direction of the SnO2 NWs was observed in (1 1 0) and (2 2 1) direction. The ethanol sensor performance of these tin oxide nanostructures showed that the SnO-SnO2 NPs exhibited extremely high sensitivity. Invited talk at 5th Thailand International Nanotechnology Conference (Nano Thailand-2016), 27-29 November 2016, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

  5. Ultrasound assisted enzymatic hydrolysis for isolating titanium dioxide nanoparticles from bivalve mollusk before sp-ICP-MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taboada-López, María Vanesa; Iglesias-López, Sara; Herbello-Hermelo, Paloma; Bermejo-Barrera, Pilar; Moreda-Piñeiro, Antonio

    2018-08-14

    Applicability of single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (sp-ICP-MS) using dwell times equal to or shorter than 100 μs has been tested for assessing titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) in bivalve mollusks. TiO 2 NPs isolation from fresh mollusk tissues was achieved by ultrasound assisted enzymatic hydrolysis procedure using a pancreatin/lipase mixture. Optimum extraction conditions imply ultrasonication (60% amplitude) for 10 min, and 7.5 mL of a solution containing 3.0 g L -1 of pancreatin and lipase (pH 7.4). The developed method was found to be repeatable (repeatability of 17% for the over-all procedure, TiO 2 NPs concentration of 5.33 × 10 7  ± 8.89 × 10 6 , n = 11), showing a limit of detection of 5.28 × 10 6 NPs g -1 , and a limit of detection in size of 24.4-30.4 nm, based on the 3σ criteria, and on the 3σ/5 σ criteria, respectively. The analytical recovery within the 90-99% range (use of TiO 2 NPs standards of 50 nm at 7 and 14 μg L -1 as Ti). Several bivalve mollusks (clams, cockles, mussels, razor clams, oysters and variegated scallops) were analyzed for total titanium (ICP-MS after microwave assisted acid digestion), and for TiO 2 NPs by the proposed method. TiO 2 NPs concentrations were within the 2.36 × 10 7 -1.25 × 10 8 NPs g -1 range, and the most frequent sizes were from 50 to 70 nm. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Prostate Ultrasound

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... through blood vessels. Ultrasound imaging is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. Prostate ultrasound, also called transrectal ultrasound, provides ...

  7. Electrical and optical performance of transparent conducting oxide films deposited by electrostatic spray assisted vapour deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Xianghui; Choy, Kwang-Leong; Liu, Jun-Peng

    2011-09-01

    Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films have the remarkable combination of high electrical conductivity and optical transparency. There is always a strong motivation to produce TCO films with good performance at low cost. Electrostatic Spray Assisted Vapor Deposition (ESAVD), as a variant of chemical vapour deposition (CVD), is a non-vacuum and low-cost deposition method. Several types of TCO films have been deposited using ESAVD process, including indium tin oxide (ITO), antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO), and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO). This paper reports the electrical and optical properties of TCO films produced by ESAVD methods, as well as the effects of post treatment by plasma hydrogenation on these TCO films. The possible mechanisms involved during plasma hydrogenation of TCO films are also discussed. Reduction and etching effect during plasma hydrogenation are the most important factors which determine the optical and electrical performance of TCO films.

  8. Effects of cryotherapy combined with therapeutic ultrasound on oxidative stress and tissue damage after musculoskeletal contusion in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, C N; Moraes, M B; Hauck, M; Guerreiro, L F; Rossato, D D; Varela, A S; da Rosa, C E; Signori, L U

    2016-12-01

    To investigate the combined effects of cryotherapy and pulsed ultrasound therapy (PUT) on oxidative stress parameters, tissue damage markers and systemic inflammation after musculoskeletal injury. Experimental animal study. Research laboratory. Seventy male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: control, lesion, cryotherapy, PUT, and cryotherapy+PUT. The gastrocnemius muscle was injured by mechanical crushing. Cryotherapy was applied immediately after injury (immersion in water at 10°C for 20minutes). PUT was commenced 24hours after injury (1MHz, 0.4W/cm 2SPTA , 20% duty cycle, 5minutes). All animals were treated every 8hours for 3 days. Oxidative stress in muscle was evaluated by concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation (LPO), anti-oxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (ACAP) and catalase. Plasma levels of creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assessed. When applied individually, cryotherapy and PUT reduced CK, LDH, CRP and LPO caused by muscle damage. Cryotherapy+PUT in combination maintained the previous results, caused a reduction in ROS [P=0.005, mean difference -0.9×10 -8 relative area, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.2 to -1.9], and increased ACAP {P=0.007, mean difference 0.34 1/[relative area with/without 2,2-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine)dihydrochloride], 95% CI 0.07 to 0.61} and catalase (P=0.002, mean difference 0.41units/mg protein, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.73) compared with the lesion group. Cryotherapy+PUT in combination reduced oxidative stress in muscle, contributing to a reduction in adjacent damage and tissue repair. Copyright © 2016 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Effect of resonance frequency, power input, and saturation gas type on the oxidation efficiency of an ultrasound horn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rooze, Joost; Rebrov, Evgeny V; Schouten, Jaap C; Keurentjes, Jos T F

    2011-01-01

    The sonochemical oxidation efficiency (η(ox)) of a commercial titanium alloy ultrasound horn has been measured using potassium iodide as a dosimeter at its main resonance frequency (20 kHz) and two higher resonance frequencies (41 and 62 kHz). Narrow power and frequency ranges have been chosen to minimise secondary effects such as changing bubble stability, and time available for radical diffusion from the bubble to the liquid. The oxidation efficiency, η(ox), is proportional to the frequency and to the power transmitted to the liquid (275 mL) in the applied power range (1-6 W) under argon. Luminol radical visualisation measurements show that the radical generation rate increases and a redistribution of radical producing zones is achieved at increasing frequency. Argon, helium, air, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide have been used as saturation gases in potassium iodide oxidation experiments. The highest η(ox) has been observed at 5 W under air at 62 kHz. The presence of carbon dioxide in air gives enhanced nucleation at 41 and 62 kHz and has a strong influence on η(ox). This is supported by the luminol images, the measured dependence of η(ox) on input power, and bubble images recorded under carbon dioxide. The results give insight into the interplay between saturation gas and frequency, nucleation, and their effect on η(ox). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. High-intensity ultrasound production of Maillard reaction flavor compounds in a cysteine-xylose model system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, Olivia X H; Seow, Yi-Xin; Ong, Peter K C; Zhou, Weibiao

    2015-09-01

    Application of high intensity ultrasound has shown potential in the production of Maillard reaction odor-active flavor compounds in model systems. The impact of initial pH, sonication duration, and ultrasound intensity on the production of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) by ultrasound processing in a cysteine-xylose model system were evaluated using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a modified mathematical model. Generation of selected MRPs, 2-methylthiophene and tetramethyl pyrazine, was optimal at an initial pH of 6.00, accompanied with 78.1 min of processing at an ultrasound intensity of 19.8 W cm(-2). However, identification of volatiles using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) revealed that ultrasound-assisted Maillard reactions generated fewer sulfur-containing volatile flavor compounds as compared to conventional heat treatment of the model system. Likely reasons for this difference in flavor profile include the expulsion of H2S due to ultrasonic degassing and inefficient transmission of ultrasonic energy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. The Effects of Ultrasound on Biological Systems: Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Karmi, Anan M.

    Earlier studies (Dinno et al., Ultrasound Med. Biol. 15:461 -470; 1989) demonstrated that ultrasound at therapeutic intensities causes large increases in total conductance (G_{rm t}) of frog skin. These changes were attributed to non-thermal mechanisms, primarily, cavitation. In this study, the site(s) and mechanism(s) of action of ultrasound for the increase in G_{rm t} were examined. The reversible changes in G_{rm t } and sodium current were monitored in real time as a function of ultrasound exposure. Amiloride, a sodium channel blocker, was used to differentiate between cellular (G_{rm c}) and paracellular (G_{rm s}) pathways in the presence and absence of ultrasound. No significant changes were detected in G_ {rm c}. However, changes in G _{rm s} were significant. These results demonstrate that most of the increase in G _{rm t} due to ultrasound is taking place in the paracellular pathways. Sodium channels were not significantly affected by ultrasound. Thus, the changes in G_{rm c} are not specific. The effects of ultrasound were examined in the presence of radical scavengers and antioxidants. The increase in G_{rm t} due to ultrasound was significantly minimized in the presence of cystamine, cysteamine, and sodium ascorbate. This demonstrates that free radicals and other reactive species generated by cavitation are causing the increase in G_ {rm t}, possibly by acting from inside the cells. Radical scavengers and antioxidants are providing protection from oxidative damage but are not involved in the recovery of G_{ rm t} towards steady state values after sonication. The role of Ca^{2+} in the effects of ultrasound was examined since many of the cellular reactions involved in tissue recovery are dependent on the intracellular availability of free Ca^{2+}. The percentage increase in G_{rm t} in the presence of Ca^{2+} was larger than in its absence (140% vs. 27%). The time constant for G_{rm t} to return to steady state was longer in calcium-free solutions (122

  12. Oxidative degradation of chlorophenol derivatives promoted by microwaves or power ultrasound: a mechanism investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cravotto, Giancarlo; Binello, Arianna; Di Carlo, Stefano; Orio, Laura; Wu, Zhi-Lin; Ondruschka, Bernd

    2010-03-01

    Phenols are the most common pollutants in industrial wastewaters (particularly from oil refineries, resin manufacture, and coal processing). In the last two decades, it has become common knowledge that they can be effectively destroyed by nonconventional techniques such as power ultrasound (US) and/or microwave (MW) irradiation. Both techniques may strongly promote advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). The present study aimed to shed light on the effect and mechanism of US- and MW-promoted oxidative degradation of chlorophenols; 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), a pesticide widespread in the environment, was chosen as the model compound. 2,4-D degradation by AOPs was carried out either under US (20 and 300 kHz) in aqueous solutions (with and without the addition of Fenton reagent) or solvent-free under MW with sodium percarbonate (SPC). All these reactions were monitored by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and compared with the classical Fenton reaction in water under magnetic stirring. The same set of treatments was also applied to 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) and phenol, the first two products that occur a step down in the degradation sequence. Fenton and Fenton-like reagents were employed at the lowest active concentration. The effects of US and MW irradiation were investigated and compared with those of conventional treatments. Detailed mechanisms of Fenton-type reactions were suggested for 2,4-D, 2,4-DCP, and phenol, underlining the principal degradation products identified. MW-promoted degradation under solvent-free conditions with solid Fenton-like reagents (viz. SPC) is extremely efficient and mainly follows pyrolytic pathways. Power US strongly accelerates the degradation of 2,4-D in water through a rapid generation of highly reactive radicals; it does not lead to the formation of more toxic dimers. We show that US and MW enhance the oxidative degradation of 2,4-D and that a considerable saving of oxidants and cutting down of

  13. Employing Response Surface Methodology for the Optimization of Ultrasound Assisted Extraction of Lutein and β-Carotene from Spinach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ammar Altemimi

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The extraction of lutein and β-carotene from spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. leaves is important to the dietary supplement industry. A Box-Behnken design and response surface methodology (RSM were used to investigate the effect of process variables on the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE of lutein and β-carotene from spinach. Three independent variables, extraction temperature (°C, extraction power (% and extraction time (min were studied. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC followed by UV visualization and densitometry was used as a simple and rapid method for both identification and quantification of lutein and β-carotene during UAE. Methanol extracts of leaves from spinach and authentic standards of lutein and β-carotene were separated by normal-phase TLC with ethyl acetate-acetone (5:4 (v/v as the mobile phase. In this study, the combination of TLC, densitometry, and Box–Behnken with RSM methods were effective for the quantitative analysis of lutein and β-carotene from spinach extracts. The resulting quadratic polynomial models for optimizing lutein and β-carotene from spinach had high coefficients of determination of 0.96 and 0.94, respectively. The optimal UAE settings for output of lutein and β-carotene simultaneously from spinach extracts were an extraction temperature of 40 °C, extraction power of 40% (28 W/cm3 and extraction time of 16 min. The identity and purity of each TLC spot was measured using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Therefore, UAE assisted extraction of carotenes from spinach can provide a source of lutein and β-carotene for the dietary supplement industry.

  14. Structural analysis of fluorine-containing bioactive glass nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel route assisted by ultrasound energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lins, Carolina E C; Oliveira, Agda A R; Gonzalez, Ismael; Macedo, Waldemar A A; Pereira, Marivalda M

    2018-01-01

    In the last decades, studies about the specific effects of bioactive glass on remineralization of dentin were the focus of attention, due to their excellent regenerative properties in mineralized tissues. The incorporation of Fluorine in bioactive glass nanoparticles may result in the formation of fluorapatite (FAP), which is chemically more stable than hydroxyapatite or carbonated hydroxyapatite, and therefore is of interest for dental applications. The aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize a new system of Fluorine-containing bioactive glass nanoparticles (BGNPF). A sol-gel route assisted by ultrasound was used for the synthesis of BGNPF. The particles obtained were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), nitrogen adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). SEM micrographs showed that the particles are quite uniform spherical nanostructures, occurring agglomeration or partial sinterization of the particulate system after heat treatment. XRD and XPS analysis results suggest the formation of fluorapatite crystals embedded within the matrix of the bioactive glass nanoparticles. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 360-366, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Ultrasound-assisted xanthation of cellulose from lignocellulosic biomass optimized by response surface methodology for Pb(II) sorption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chongqing; Wang, Hui; Gu, Guohua

    2018-02-15

    Alkali treatment of lignocellulosic biomass is conducted to remove hemi-cellulose and lignin, further increasing the reactivity and accessibility of cellulose. Ultrasound-assisted xanthation of alkali cellulose is optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box-Behnken design. A predicting mathematical model is obtained by fitting experimental data, and it is verified by analysis of variance. Response surface plots and the contour plots obtained from the model are applied to determine the interactions of experimental variables. The optimum conditions are NaOH concentration 1.3mol/L, ultrasonic time 71.6min and CS 2 dosage 1.5mL. FTIR, SEM and XPS characterizations confirm the synthesis and sorption mechanism of cellulose xanthate (CX). Biosorption of Pb (II) onto CX obeys pseudo-second order model and Langmuir model. The sorption mechanism is attributed to surface complexation or ion exchange. CX shows good reusability for Pb (II) sorption. The maximum sorption capacity of Pb(II) is 134.41mg/g, higher than that of other biosorbents. CX has great potential as an efficient and low-cost biosorbent for wastewater treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Micelle-assisted signaling of peracetic acid by the oxidation of pyreneboronic acid via monomer-excimer switching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Jiyoung; Lee, Hyo Jin; Cho, Min Jeoung; Chang, Suk-Kyu

    2015-08-15

    A simple fluorescent probe for the industrial oxidant peracetic acid (PAA) was investigated. PAA-assisted oxidative conversion of pyrene-1-boronic acid into 1-hydroxypyrene was used as the signaling tool. Pyreneboronic acid was found to display selective signaling behavior, being more responsive to PAA than to other commonly used practical oxidants such as H2O2 and HOCl. The changes in pyrene monomer fluorescence to excimer were used in the quantitative analysis of PAA. When using the surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide as a micellar additive, the signaling of PAA was markedly enhanced. Selective fluorescence signaling of PAA by pyrene-1-boronic acid with a detection limit of 1.5×10(-6)M in aqueous environment was successfully achieved. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Trends in the Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nano tubes and Their Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Motshekga, S.C.; Pillai, S.K.; Ray, S.S.; Motshekga, S.C.; Ray, S.S.; Jalama, K.; Krause, Rui.W.M.

    2012-01-01

    The study of coating carbon nano tubes with metal/oxides nanoparticles is now becoming a promising and challenging area of research. To optimize the use of carbon nano tubes in various applications, it is necessary to attach functional groups or other nano structures to their surface. The combination of the distinctive properties of carbon nano tubes and metal/oxides is expected to be applied in field emission displays, nano electronic devices, novel catalysts, and polymer or ceramic reinforcement. The synthesis of these composites is still largely based on conventional techniques, such as wet impregnation followed by chemical reduction of the metal nanoparticle precursors. These techniques based on thermal heating can be time consuming and often lack control of particle size and morphology. Hence, there is interest in microwave technology recently, where using microwaves represents an alternative way of power input into chemical reactions through dielectric heating. This paper covers the synthesis and applications of carbon-nano tube-coated metal/oxides nanoparticles prepared by a microwave-assisted method. The reviewed studies show that the microwave-assisted synthesis of the composites allows processes to be completed within a shorter reaction time with uniform and well-dispersed nanoparticle formation.

  18. Recent Trends in the Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotubes and Their Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah C. Motshekga

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The study of coating carbon nanotubes with metal/oxides nanoparticles is now becoming a promising and challenging area of research. To optimize the use of carbon nanotubes in various applications, it is necessary to attach functional groups or other nanostructures to their surface. The combination of the distinctive properties of carbon nanotubes and metal/oxides is expected to be applied in field emission displays, nanoelectronic devices, novel catalysts, and polymer or ceramic reinforcement. The synthesis of these composites is still largely based on conventional techniques, such as wet impregnation followed by chemical reduction of the metal nanoparticle precursors. These techniques based on thermal heating can be time consuming and often lack control of particle size and morphology. Hence, there is interest in microwave technology recently, where using microwaves represents an alternative way of power input into chemical reactions through dielectric heating. This paper covers the synthesis and applications of carbon-nanotube-coated metal/oxides nanoparticles prepared by a microwave-assisted method. The reviewed studies show that the microwave-assisted synthesis of the composites allows processes to be completed within a shorter reaction time with uniform and well-dispersed nanoparticle formation.

  19. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... three types of pelvic ultrasound: abdominal, vaginal (for women), and rectal (for men). These exams are frequently ... pelvic ultrasound: abdominal ( transabdominal ) vaginal ( transvaginal / endovaginal ) for women rectal ( transrectal ) for men A Doppler ultrasound exam ...

  20. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... a pelvic ultrasound examination. Doppler ultrasound , also called color Doppler ultrasonography, is a special ultrasound technique that ... and processes the sounds and creates graphs or color pictures that represent the flow of blood through ...

  1. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Ultrasound imaging is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. There are ... Ultrasound page for more information . Ultrasound examinations can help diagnose symptoms experienced by women such as: pelvic ...

  2. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... ultrasound images are captured in real-time, they can show the structure and movement of the body's ... Obstetrical Ultrasound page for more information . Ultrasound examinations can help diagnose symptoms experienced by women such as: ...

  3. Extraction of Natural Antioxidants from the Thelephora ganbajun Mushroom by an Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Technique and Evaluation of Antiproliferative Activity of the Extract against Human Cancer Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong-Ping Xu

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The Thelephora ganbajun mushroom has been found to be a potential rich source of natural antioxidants. In this study, an ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE technique together with GRAS (generally recognized as safe solvents (ethanol and water was used to maximize the extraction of antioxidants from Thelephora ganbajun. Five extraction parameters (ethanol concentration, solvent to solid ratio, extraction time, temperature and ultrasound power were investigated by single-factor experiments, and then a central composite rotatable design was employed to study interaction of three key extraction parameters. The optimum conditions were as follows: 57.38% ethanol, 70.15 mL/g solvent to solid ratio, 10.58 min extraction time, 40 °C extraction temperature and 500 W ultrasound power. Under the optimum conditions, the antioxidant activity obtained was 346.98 ± 12.19 µmol Trolox/g DW, in accordance with the predicted value of 344.67 µmol Trolox/g DW. Comparison of UAE with conventional maceration and Soxhlet extraction, the UAE method showed stronger extract efficiency in a shorter extraction time. These results showed that UAE was an effective technique to extract antioxidants from Thelephora ganbajun. Furthermore, the extracts obtained under the optimized conditions exhibited antiproliferative activities toward human lung (A549, breast (MCF-7, liver (HepG2 and colon (HT-29 cancer cells, especially for liver and lung cancer cells. In addition, rutin, 2-hydrocinnamic acid and epicatechin were identified in the extract, which might contribute to antioxidant and antiproliferative activities.

  4. Extraction of Natural Antioxidants from the Thelephora ganbajun Mushroom by an Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Technique and Evaluation of Antiproliferative Activity of the Extract against Human Cancer Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Dong-Ping; Zheng, Jie; Zhou, Yue; Li, Ya; Li, Sha; Li, Hua-Bin

    2016-10-01

    The Thelephora ganbajun mushroom has been found to be a potential rich source of natural antioxidants. In this study, an ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) technique together with GRAS (generally recognized as safe) solvents (ethanol and water) was used to maximize the extraction of antioxidants from Thelephora ganbajun . Five extraction parameters (ethanol concentration, solvent to solid ratio, extraction time, temperature and ultrasound power) were investigated by single-factor experiments, and then a central composite rotatable design was employed to study interaction of three key extraction parameters. The optimum conditions were as follows: 57.38% ethanol, 70.15 mL/g solvent to solid ratio, 10.58 min extraction time, 40 °C extraction temperature and 500 W ultrasound power. Under the optimum conditions, the antioxidant activity obtained was 346.98 ± 12.19 µmol Trolox/g DW, in accordance with the predicted value of 344.67 µmol Trolox/g DW. Comparison of UAE with conventional maceration and Soxhlet extraction, the UAE method showed stronger extract efficiency in a shorter extraction time. These results showed that UAE was an effective technique to extract antioxidants from Thelephora ganbajun . Furthermore, the extracts obtained under the optimized conditions exhibited antiproliferative activities toward human lung (A549), breast (MCF-7), liver (HepG2) and colon (HT-29) cancer cells, especially for liver and lung cancer cells. In addition, rutin, 2-hydrocinnamic acid and epicatechin were identified in the extract, which might contribute to antioxidant and antiproliferative activities.

  5. A low-cost ultrasound program leads to increased antenatal clinic visits and attended deliveries at a health care clinic in rural Uganda.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew B Ross

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In June of 2010, an antenatal ultrasound program to perform basic screening for high-risk pregnancies was introduced at a community health care center in rural Uganda. Whether the addition of ultrasound scanning to antenatal visits at the health center would encourage or discourage potential patients was unknown. Our study sought to evaluate trends in the numbers of antenatal visits and deliveries at the clinic, pre- and post-introduction of antenatal ultrasound to determine what effect the presence of ultrasound at the clinic had on these metrics. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Records at Nawanyago clinic were reviewed to obtain the number of antenatal visits and deliveries for the 42 months preceding the introduction of ultrasound and the 23 months following. The monthly mean deliveries and antenatal visits by category (first visit through fourth return visit were compared pre- and post- ultrasound using a Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA. Following the introduction of ultrasound, significant increases were seen in the number of mean monthly deliveries and antenatal visits. The mean number of monthly deliveries at the clinic increased by 17.0 (13.3-20.6, 95% CI from a pre-ultrasound average of 28.4 to a post-ultrasound monthly average of 45.4. The number of deliveries at a comparison clinic remained flat over this same time period. The monthly mean number of antenatal visits increased by 97.4 (83.3-111.5, 95% CI from a baseline monthly average of 133.5 to a post-ultrasound monthly mean of 231.0, with increases seen in all categories of antenatal visits. CONCLUSIONS: The availability of a low-cost antenatal ultrasound program may assist progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5 by encouraging women in a rural environment to come to a health care facility for skilled antenatal care and delivery assistance instead of utilizing more traditional methods.

  6. Ultrasound treatment on phenolic metabolism and antioxidant capacity of fresh-cut pineapple during cold storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeoh, Wei Keat; Ali, Asgar

    2017-02-01

    Ultrasound treatment at different power output (0, 25 and 29W) and exposure time (10 and 15min) was used to investigate its effect on the phenolic metabolism enzymes, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of fresh-cut pineapple. Following ultrasound treatment at 25 and 29W, the activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) was increased significantly (Ppineapple was significantly (Ppineapple. Results suggest that hormetic dosage of ultrasound treatment can enhance the activity of PAL and total phenolic content and hence the total antioxidant capacity to encounter with oxidative stress. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. Ionic-liquid-based ultrasound-assisted extraction of isoflavones from Belamcanda chinensis and subsequent screening and isolation of potential α-glucosidase inhibitors by ultrafiltration and semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Senlin; Li, Sainan; Huang, Yu; Liu, Chunming; Chen, Lina; Zhang, Yuchi

    2017-06-01

    The separation of a compound of interest from its structurally similar homologues to produce high-purity natural products is a challenging problem. This work proposes a novel method for the separation of iristectorigenin A from its structurally similar homologues by ionic-liquid-based ultrasound-assisted extraction and the subsequent screening and isolation of potential α-glucosidase inhibitors via ultrafiltration and semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Ionic-liquid-based ultrasound-assisted extraction was successfully applied to the extraction of tectorigenin, iristectorigenin A, irigenin, and irisflorentin from Belamcanda chinensis. The optimum conditions for the efficient extraction of isoflavones were determined as 1.0 M 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate with extraction time of 30 min and a solvent to solid ratio of 30 mL/g. Ultrafiltration with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry was applied to screen and identify α-glucosidase inhibitors from B. chinensis, followed by the application of semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography to separate and isolate the active constituents. Four major compounds including tectorigenin, iristectorigenin A, irigenin, and irisflorentin were screened and identified as α-glucosidase inhibitors, and then the four active compounds abovementioned were subsequently isolated by semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography (99.89, 88.97, 99.79, and 99.97% purity, respectively). The results demonstrate that ionic liquid extraction can be successfully applied to the extraction of isoflavones from B. chinensis. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Isotope labelling study of CO oxidation-assisted epoxidation of propene. Implications for oxygen activation on Au catalysts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jian; Oxford, Sean M; Fu, Baosong; Kung, Mayfair C; Kung, Harold H; Ma, Jiantai

    2010-06-07

    (18)O isotope labelling studies of the CO oxidation-assisted epoxidation of propene, catalyzed by a mixture of Au/TiO(2) and TS-1, using a methanol-H(2)O solvent showed the O in the epoxide was exclusively from O(2) and not H(2)O or methanol.

  9. Computerized Diagnostic Assistant for the Automatic Detection of Pneumothorax on Ultrasound: A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shane M. Summers, MD, RDMS

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Bedside thoracic ultrasound (US can rapidly diagnose pneumothorax (PTX with improved accuracy over the physical examination and without the need for chest radiography (CXR; however, US is highly operator dependent. A computerized diagnostic assistant was developed by the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research to detect PTX on standard thoracic US images. This computer algorithm is designed to automatically detect sonographic signs of PTX by systematically analyzing B-mode US video clips for pleural sliding and M-mode still images for the seashore sign. This was a pilot study to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of the PTX detection computer algorithm when compared to an expert panel of US trained physicians. Methods: This was a retrospective study using archived thoracic US obtained on adult patients presenting to the emergency department (ED between 5/23/2011 and 8/6/2014. Emergency medicine residents, fellows, attending physicians, physician assistants, and medical students performed the US examinations and stored the images in the picture archive and communications system (PACS. The PACS was queried for all ED bedside US examinations with reported positive PTX during the study period along with a random sample of negatives. The computer algorithm then interpreted the images, and we compared the results to an independent, blinded expert panel of three physicians, each with experience reviewing over 10,000 US examinations. Results: Query of the PACS system revealed 146 bedside thoracic US examinations for analysis. Thirteen examinations were indeterminate and were excluded. There were 79 true negatives, 33 true positives, 9 false negatives, and 12 false positives. The test characteristics of the algorithm when compared to the expert panel were sensitivity 79% (95 % CI [63-89] and specificity 87% (95% CI [77-93]. For the 20 images scored as highest quality by the expert panel, the algorithm demonstrated 100% sensitivity

  10. Selective Oxidation and Reactive Wetting during Galvanizing of a CMnAl TRIP-Assisted Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellhouse, E. M.; McDermid, J. R.

    2011-09-01

    A transformation induced plasticity (TRIP)-assisted steel with 0.2 pct C, 1.5 pct Mn, and 1.5 pct Al was successfully galvanized using a thermal cycle previously shown to produce an excellent combination of strength and ductility. The steel surface chemistry and oxide morphology were determined as a function of process atmosphere oxygen partial pressure. For the 220 K (-53 °C) dew point (dp) + 20 pct H2 atmosphere, the oxide morphology was a mixture of films and nodules. For the 243 K (-30 °C) dp + 5 pct H2 atmosphere, nodules of MnO were found primarily at grain boundaries. For the 278 K (+5 °C) dp + 5 pct H2 atmosphere, nodules of metallic Fe were found on the surface as a result of alloy element internal oxidation. The steel surface chemistry and oxide morphology were then related to the reactive wetting behavior during continuous hot dip galvanizing. Good wetting was obtained using the two lower oxygen partial pressure process atmospheres [220 K dp and 243 K dp (-53 °C dp and -30 °C dp)]. An increase in the number of bare spots was observed when using the higher oxygen partial pressure process atmosphere (+5 °C dp) due to the increased thickness of localized oxide films.

  11. Mesoporous metal catalysts formed by ultrasound

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaeferhans, Jana; Pazos Perez, Nicolas; Andreeva, Daria [Physikalische Chemie II, Universitaet Bayreuth (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    We study the ultrasound-driven formation of mesoporous metal sponges. The collapse of acoustic cavitations leads to very high temperatures and pressures on very short scales. Therefore, structures may be formed and quenched far from equilibrium. Mechanism of metal modification by ultrasound is complex and involves a variety of aspects. We propose that modification of metal particles and formation of mesoporous inner structures can be achieved due to thermal etching of metals by ultrasound stimulated high speed jets of liquid. Simultaneously, oxidation of metal surfaces by free radicals produced in water during cavitation stabilizes developed metal structures. Duration and intensity of the ultrasonication treatment is able to control the structure and morphology of metal sponges. We expect that this approach to the formation of nanoscale composite sponges is universal and opens perspective for a whole new class of catalytic materials that can be prepared in a one-step process. The developed method makes it possible to control the sponge morphology and can be used for formation of modern types of catalysts. For example, the sonication technique allows to combine the fabrication of mesoporous support and distribution of metal (Cu, Pd, Au, Pt etc.) nanoparticles in its pores into a single step.

  12. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... What are the limitations of General Ultrasound Imaging? What is General Ultrasound Imaging? Ultrasound is safe and ... be heard with every heartbeat. top of page What are some common uses of the procedure? Ultrasound ...

  13. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Index A-Z General Ultrasound Ultrasound imaging uses sound waves to produce pictures of the inside of ... pictures of the inside of the body using sound waves. Ultrasound imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or ...

  14. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... guide biopsy of breast cancer ( see the Ultrasound-Guided Breast Biopsy page . diagnose a variety of heart ... Articles and Media Angioplasty and Vascular Stenting Ultrasound-Guided Breast Biopsy Obstetric Ultrasound Ultrasound - Prostate Biopsies - Overview ...

  15. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... of an ultrasound examination. Doppler ultrasound , also called color Doppler ultrasonography, is a special ultrasound technique that ... kidneys. There are three types of Doppler ultrasound: Color Doppler uses a computer to convert Doppler measurements ...

  16. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... those sound waves to create an image. Ultrasound examinations do not use ionizing radiation (as used in ... ultrasound study may be part of an ultrasound examination. Doppler ultrasound , also called color Doppler ultrasonography, is ...

  17. Determination of atenolol in human plasma using ionic-liquid-based ultrasound-assisted in situ solvent formation microextraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeeb, Mohsen; Farahani, Hadi; Papan, Mohammad Kazem

    2016-06-01

    An efficient analytical method called ionic-liquid-based ultrasound-assisted in situ solvent formation microextraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography was developed for the determination of atenolol in human plasma. A hydrophobic ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) was formed by the addition of a hydrophilic ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) to a sample solution containing an ion-pairing agent during microextraction. The analyte was extracted into the ionic liquid phase while the microextraction solvent was dispersed throughout the sample by utilizing ultrasound. The sample was then centrifuged, and the extracting phase retracted into the microsyringe and injected to liquid chromatography. After optimization, the calibration curve showed linearity in the range of 2-750 ng/mL with the regression coefficient corresponding to 0.998. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) and quantification (S/N = 10) were 0.5 and 2 ng/mL, respectively. A reasonable relative recovery range of 90-96.7% and satisfactory intra-assay (4.8-5.1%, n = 6) and interassay (5.0-5.6%, n = 9) precision along with a substantial sample clean-up demonstrated good performance of the procedure. It was applied for the determination of atenolol in human plasma after oral administration and some pharmacokinetic data were obtained. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Musculoskeletal ultrasound in rheumatology in Korea: targeted ultrasound initiative survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Taeyoung; Wakefield, Richard J; Emery, Paul

    2016-04-01

    In collaboration with the Targeted Ultrasound Initiative (TUI), to conduct the first study in Korea to investigate current practices in ultrasound use among Korean rheumatologists. We translated the TUI Global Survey into Korean and added questions to better understand the specific challenges facing rheumatologists in Korea. To target as many rheumatologists in Korea as possible, we created an on-line version of this survey, which was conducted from March to April 2013. Rheumatologists are in charge of ultrasound in many Korean hospitals. Rheumatologists in hospitals and private clinics use ultrasound to examine between one and five patients daily; they use ultrasound for diagnosis more than monitoring and receive compensation of about US$30-50 per patient. There are marked differences in the rates of ultrasound usage between rheumatologists who work in private practice compared with tertiary hospitals. Korean rheumatologists not currently using ultrasound in their practice appear eager to do so. This survey provides important insights into the current status of ultrasound in rheumatology in Korea and highlights several priorities; specifically, greater provision of formal training, standardization of reporting and accrual of greater experience among ultrasound users. If these needs are addressed, all rheumatology departments in Korea are likely to use ultrasound or have access to it in the future. © 2014 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  19. Ultrasound-air-assisted demulsified liquid-liquid microextraction by solidification of a floating organic droplet for determination of three antifungal drugs in water and biological samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ezoddin, Maryam; Shojaie, Mehran; Abdi, Khosrou; Karimi, Mohammad Ali

    2017-03-01

    A novel ultrasound-air-assisted demulsified liquid-liquid microextraction by solidification of a floating organic droplet (UAAD-LLM-SFO) followed by HPLC-UV detection was developed for the analysis of three antifungal drugs in water and biological samples. In this method, 1-dodecanol was used as the extraction solvent. The emulsion was rapidly formed by pulling in and pushing out the mixture of sample solution and extraction solvent for 5 times repeatedly using a 10-mL glass syringe while sonication was performed. Therefore, an organic dispersive solvent required in common microextraction methods was not used in the proposed method. After dispersing, an aliquot of acetonitrile was introduced as a demulsifier solvent into the sample solution to separate two phases. Therefore, some additional steps, such as the centrifugation, ultrasonication, or agitation of the sample solution, are not needed. Parameters influencing the extraction recovery were investigated. The proposed method showed a good linearity for the three antifungal drugs studied with the correlation coefficients (R 2  > 0.9995). The limits of detection (LODs) and the limits of the quantification (LOQs) were between 0.01-0.03 μg L -1 and 0.03-0.08 μg L -1 , respectively. The preconcentration factors (PFs) were in the range of 107-116, respectively. The precisions, as the relative standard deviations (RSDs) (n = 5), for inter-day and intra-day analysis were in the range of 2.1-4.5% and 6.5-8.5%, respectively. This method was successfully applied to determine the three antifungal drugs in tap water and biological samples. The recoveries of antifungal drugs in these samples were 92.4-98.5%. Graphical abstract Ultrasound-air-assisted demulsified liquid-liquid microextraction by solidification of a floating organic droplet for the analysis of three antifungal drugs prior HPLC-UV.

  20. Core review: physician-performed ultrasound: the time has come for routine use in acute care medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royse, Colin F; Canty, David J; Faris, John; Haji, Darsim L; Veltman, Michael; Royse, Alistair

    2012-11-01

    The use of ultrasound in the acute care specialties of anesthesiology, intensive care, emergency medicine, and surgery has evolved from discrete, office-based echocardiographic examinations to the real-time or point-of-care clinical assessment and interventions. "Goal-focused" transthoracic echocardiography is a limited scope (as compared with comprehensive examination) echocardiographic examination, performed by the treating clinician in acute care medical practice, and is aimed at addressing specific clinical concerns. In the future, the practice of surface ultrasound will be integrated into the everyday clinical practice as ultrasound-assisted examination and ultrasound-guided procedures. This evolution should start at the medical student level and be reinforced throughout specialist training. The key to making ultrasound available to every physician is through education programs designed to facilitate uptake, rather than to prevent access to this technology and education by specialist craft groups. There is evidence that diagnosis is improved with ultrasound examination, yet data showing change in management and improvement in patient outcome are few and an important area for future research.

  1. The concept of laparoscopy-assisted pancreatobiliary EUS (LAP-EUS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramesh, Jayapal; Christein, John; Varadarajulu, Shyam

    2013-05-01

    While laparoscopy-assisted endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography can be performed for the diagnosis and management of pancreaticobiliary diseases in patients with Roux-en-Y (RY) anatomy; the technical feasibility of performing laparoscopy-assisted endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is unknown. In this report, we describe the technique for performing laparoscopy-assisted EUS in two patients with RY gastric bypass anatomy who presented with obstructive jaundice, abnormal liver function tests, and dilated biliary tree. While the examination was normal in one patient, EUS-guided fine needle aspiration of pancreatic head mass revealed adenocarcinoma in the other. Laparoscopic assisted EUS examination including FNA is feasible in Roux-en-Y surgical anatomy.

  2. Surface modification of lignocellulosic fibers using high-frequency ultrasound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayant B. Gadhe; Ram B. Gupta; Thomas Elder

    2005-01-01

    Enzymatic and chemical oxidation of fiber surfaces has been reported in the literature as a method for producing medium density fiberboards without using synthetic adhesives. This work focuses on modifying the surface properties of wood fibers by the generation of free radicals using high-frequency ultrasound. A sonochemical reactor operating at 610 kHz is used to...

  3. Ultrasound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ultrasound is a useful procedure for monitoring the baby's development in the uterus. Ultrasound uses inaudible sound waves to produce a two-dimensional image of the baby while inside the mother's ...

  4. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... transducer sends out high-frequency sound waves (that the human ear cannot hear) into the body and then ... ultrasound , there are no known harmful effects on humans. top of page What are the limitations of Pelvic Ultrasound Imaging? Ultrasound waves are ...

  5. Determination of gestational age by ultrasound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butt, Kimberly; Lim, Ken

    2014-02-01

    To assist clinicians in assigning gestational age based on ultrasound biometry. To determine whether ultrasound dating provides more accurate gestational age assessment than menstrual dating with or without the use of ultrasound. To provide maternity health care providers and researchers with evidence-based guidelines for the assignment of gestational age. To determine which ultrasound biometric parameters are superior when gestational age is uncertain. To determine whether ultrasound gestational age assessment is cost effective. Published literature was retrieved through searches of PubMed or MEDLINE and The Cochrane Library in 2013 using appropriate controlled vocabulary and key words (gestational age, ultrasound biometry, ultrasound dating). Results were restricted to systematic reviews, randomized control trials/controlled clinical trials, and observational studies written in English. There were no date restrictions. Searches were updated on a regular basis and incorporated in the guideline to July 31, 2013. Grey (unpublished) literature was identified through searching the websites of health technology assessment and health technology-related agencies, clinical practice guideline collections, clinical trial registries, and national and international medical specialty societies. The quality of evidence in this document was rated using the criteria described in the Report of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (Table 1). Accurate assignment of gestational age may reduce post-dates labour induction and may improve obstetric care through allowing the optimal timing of necessary interventions and the avoidance of unnecessary ones. More accurate dating allows for optimal performance of prenatal screening tests for aneuploidy. A national algorithm for the assignment of gestational age may reduce practice variations across Canada for clinicians and researchers. Potential harms include the possible reassignment of dates when significant fetal pathology

  6. Development of a membrane-assisted fluidized bed reactor - 2 - Experimental demonstration and modeling for the partial oxidation of methanol

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deshmukh, S.A.R.K.; Laverman, J.A.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

    2005-01-01

    A small laboratory-scale membrane-assisted fluidized bed reactor (MAFBR) was constructed in order to experimentally demonstrate the reactor concept for the partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. Methanol conversion and product selectivities were measured at various overall fluidization

  7. Selective determination of inorganic cobalt in nutritional supplements by ultrasound-assisted temperature-controlled ionic liquid dispersive liquid phase microextraction and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berton, Paula; Martinis, Estefanía M.; Martinez, Luis D.; Wuilloud, Rodolfo G.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Synergy of ultrasound energy and TILDLME technique for improved metal extraction. ► Highly selective determination of inorganic Co species at trace levels. ► Speciation analysis of Co in several nutritional supplements with highly complex matrices. ► Development of an environmentally friendly microextraction technique with minimal waste production and sample consumption. - Abstract: In the present work, a simple and rapid analytical method based on application of ionic liquids (ILs) for inorganic Co(II) species (iCo) microextraction in a variety of nutrient supplements was developed. Inorganic Co was initially chelated with 1-nitroso-2-naphtol (1N2N) reagent followed by a modern technique named ultrasound-assisted temperature-controlled ionic liquid dispersive liquid phase microextraction (USA-TILDLME). The extraction was performed with 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C 6 mim][PF 6 ] with the aid of ultrasound to improve iCo recovery. Finally, the iCo-enriched IL phase was solubilized in methanol and directly injected into an electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer (ETAAS). Several parameters that could influence iCo microextraction and detection were carefully studied. Since the main difficulty in these samples is caused by high concentrations of potential interfering ions, different approaches were evaluated to eliminate interferences. The limit of detection (LOD) was 5.4 ng L −1 , while the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4.7% (at 0.5 μg L −1 Co level and n = 10), calculated from the peak height of absorbance signals. Selective microextraction of iCo species was achieved only by controlling the pH value during the procedure. The method was thus successfully applied for determination of iCo species in nutritional supplements.

  8. Selective determination of inorganic cobalt in nutritional supplements by ultrasound-assisted temperature-controlled ionic liquid dispersive liquid phase microextraction and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berton, Paula; Martinis, Estefania M. [Analytical Chemistry Research and Development Group (QUIANID), (LISAMEN-CCT-CONICET-Mendoza), Av. Ruiz Leal S/N Parque General San Martin, M 5502 IRA Mendoza (Argentina); Martinez, Luis D. [INQUISAL-CONICET, Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Facultad de Quimica, Bioquimica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis (Argentina); Wuilloud, Rodolfo G., E-mail: rwuilloud@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar [Analytical Chemistry Research and Development Group (QUIANID), (LISAMEN-CCT-CONICET-Mendoza), Av. Ruiz Leal S/N Parque General San Martin, M 5502 IRA Mendoza (Argentina); Instituto de Ciencias Basicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza (Argentina)

    2012-02-03

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Synergy of ultrasound energy and TILDLME technique for improved metal extraction. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Highly selective determination of inorganic Co species at trace levels. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Speciation analysis of Co in several nutritional supplements with highly complex matrices. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Development of an environmentally friendly microextraction technique with minimal waste production and sample consumption. - Abstract: In the present work, a simple and rapid analytical method based on application of ionic liquids (ILs) for inorganic Co(II) species (iCo) microextraction in a variety of nutrient supplements was developed. Inorganic Co was initially chelated with 1-nitroso-2-naphtol (1N2N) reagent followed by a modern technique named ultrasound-assisted temperature-controlled ionic liquid dispersive liquid phase microextraction (USA-TILDLME). The extraction was performed with 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C{sub 6}mim][PF{sub 6}] with the aid of ultrasound to improve iCo recovery. Finally, the iCo-enriched IL phase was solubilized in methanol and directly injected into an electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer (ETAAS). Several parameters that could influence iCo microextraction and detection were carefully studied. Since the main difficulty in these samples is caused by high concentrations of potential interfering ions, different approaches were evaluated to eliminate interferences. The limit of detection (LOD) was 5.4 ng L{sup -1}, while the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4.7% (at 0.5 {mu}g L{sup -1} Co level and n = 10), calculated from the peak height of absorbance signals. Selective microextraction of iCo species was achieved only by controlling the pH value during the procedure. The method was thus successfully applied for determination of iCo species in nutritional supplements.

  9. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the upper airway

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    You-Ten, Kong Eric; Siddiqui, Naveed; Teoh, Wendy H

    2018-01-01

    is to provide an overview of the indications for point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the upper airway. The use of US to guide and assist clinical airway management has potential benefits for both provider and patient. Ultrasound can be utilized to determine airway size and predict the appropriate diameter...... of single-lumen endotracheal tubes (ETTs), double-lumen ETTs, and tracheostomy tubes. Ultrasonography can differentiate tracheal, esophageal, and endobronchial intubation. Ultrasonography of the neck can accurately localize the cricothyroid membrane for emergency airway access and similarly identify...... tracheal rings for US-guided tracheostomy. In addition, US can identify vocal cord dysfunction and pathology before induction of anesthesia. A rapidly growing body of evidence showing ultrasonography used in conjunction with hands-on management of the airway may benefit patient care. Increasing awareness...

  10. Segmentation of breast ultrasound images based on active contours using neutrosophic theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lotfollahi, Mahsa; Gity, Masoumeh; Ye, Jing Yong; Mahlooji Far, A

    2018-04-01

    Ultrasound imaging is an effective approach for diagnosing breast cancer, but it is highly operator-dependent. Recent advances in computer-aided diagnosis have suggested that it can assist physicians in diagnosis. Definition of the region of interest before computer analysis is still needed. Since manual outlining of the tumor contour is tedious and time-consuming for a physician, developing an automatic segmentation method is important for clinical application. The present paper represents a novel method to segment breast ultrasound images. It utilizes a combination of region-based active contour and neutrosophic theory to overcome the natural properties of ultrasound images including speckle noise and tissue-related textures. First, due to inherent speckle noise and low contrast of these images, we have utilized a non-local means filter and fuzzy logic method for denoising and image enhancement, respectively. This paper presents an improved weighted region-scalable active contour to segment breast ultrasound images using a new feature derived from neutrosophic theory. This method has been applied to 36 breast ultrasound images. It generates true-positive and false-positive results, and similarity of 95%, 6%, and 90%, respectively. The purposed method indicates clear advantages over other conventional methods of active contour segmentation, i.e., region-scalable fitting energy and weighted region-scalable fitting energy.

  11. Augmentation of limb perfusion and reversal of tissue ischemia produced by ultrasound-mediated microbubble cavitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belcik, J Todd; Mott, Brian H; Xie, Aris; Zhao, Yan; Kim, Sajeevani; Lindner, Nathan J; Ammi, Azzdine; Linden, Joel M; Lindner, Jonathan R

    2015-04-01

    Ultrasound can increase tissue blood flow, in part, through the intravascular shear produced by oscillatory pressure fluctuations. We hypothesized that ultrasound-mediated increases in perfusion can be augmented by microbubble contrast agents that undergo ultrasound-mediated cavitation and sought to characterize the biological mediators. Contrast ultrasound perfusion imaging of hindlimb skeletal muscle and femoral artery diameter measurement were performed in nonischemic mice after unilateral 10-minute exposure to intermittent ultrasound alone (mechanical index, 0.6 or 1.3) or ultrasound with lipid microbubbles (2×10(8) IV). Studies were also performed after inhibiting shear- or pressure-dependent vasodilator pathways, and in mice with hindlimb ischemia. Ultrasound alone produced a 2-fold increase (Pultrasound power. Ultrasound-mediated augmentation in flow was greater with microbubbles (3- and 10-fold higher than control for mechanical index 0.6 and 1.3, respectively; Pultrasound and microbubbles by 70% (Pultrasound and ultrasound with microbubbles. In mice with unilateral hindlimb ischemia (40%-50% reduction in flow), ultrasound (mechanical index, 1.3) with microbubbles increased perfusion by 2-fold to a degree that was greater than the control nonischemic limb. Increases in muscle blood flow during high-power ultrasound are markedly amplified by the intravascular presence of microbubbles and can reverse tissue ischemia. These effects are most likely mediated by cavitation-related increases in shear and activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

  12. Photo-assisted electrochemical oxidation of the urea onto TiO2-nanotubes modified by hematite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waleed M. Omymen

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The electrochemical oxidation of the urea in near neutral pH is investigated on platinum electrode. It is shown that oxidation reaction is practically inhibited up to the potentials of ∼0.9 V. The same reaction is investigated onto electrochemically obtained titanium dioxide nanotubes modified by hematite using facile, low-cost successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR method. It is shown that such system possesses electrocatalytic activity at very low potentials, and activity can be further improved by the illumination of the electrode in the photo-assisted reaction. The possible application of the photoactive anode is considered in the application of urea based water electrolysis and urea based fuel cell. Keywords: Photoelectrochemical cell, Water electrolysis, Fuel cell, SILAR

  13. PtNi alloy nanoparticles supported on carbon-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays for photo-assisted methanol oxidation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, Huichao; Xiao, Peng; Zhou, Ming; Liu, Feila; Yu, Shujuan; Qiao, Lei; Zhang, Yunhuai

    2013-01-01

    To develop anode catalysts for photo-assisted direct methanol fuel cell (PDMFC), carbon-doped TiO 2 nanotube arrays-supported PtNi alloy nanoparticles with different Pt/Ni atomic ratio (PtNi/C-TiO 2 NTs) prepared by pulsed electrodeposition method are evaluated as catalysts for photo-assisted methanol oxidation. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry results show that the PtNi/C-TiO 2 NTs prepared at t onPt :t onNi : = 10:7 (t on is the current-on time) with a Pt:Ni atomic ratio of 6.1:5.7 presents the highest catalytic activity for methanol oxidation both in the dark and under illumination. In addition, according to the results obtained from the CO stripping voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests, it was found that the light play an accelerative role in the oxidation of methanol on PtNi/C-TiO 2 NTs under illumination. The effect of illumination which enhancing the catalytic activity of PtNi/C-TiO 2 NTs are attributed to (1) methanol and the intermediates be oxidized directly on C-TiO 2 NTs for the light-induced catalytic effect; (2) more abundant oxygen-donating species be produced on C-TiO 2 NTs in the presence of light; (3) less CO ads adsorbing on catalysts due to the presence of stronger metal–support interactions between PtNi alloy nanoparticles and C-TiO 2 NTs under illumination

  14. Plasma-assisted partial oxidation of methane at low temperatures: numerical analysis of gas-phase chemical mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goujard, Valentin; Nozaki, Tomohiro; Yuzawa, Shuhei; Okazaki, Ken [Department of Mechanical and Control Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 O-okayama, Meguro, 1528552, Tokyo (Japan); Agiral, Anil, E-mail: tnozaki@mech.titech.ac.jp [Mesoscale Chemical Systems, MESA Institute for Nanotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede (Netherlands)

    2011-07-13

    Methane partial oxidation was investigated using a plasma microreactor. The experiments were performed at 5 and 300 deg. C. Microreactor configuration allows an efficient evacuation of the heat generated by methane partial oxidation and dielectric barrier discharges, allowing at the same time a better temperature control. At 5 deg. C, liquid condensation of low vapour pressure compounds, such as formaldehyde and methanol, occurs. {sup 1}H-NMR analysis allowed us to demonstrate significant CH{sub 3}OOH formation during plasma-assisted partial oxidation of methane. Conversion and product selectivity were discussed for both temperatures. In the second part of this work, a numerical simulation was performed and a gas-phase chemical mechanism was proposed and discussed. From the comparison between the experimental results and the simulation it was found that CH{sub 3}OO{center_dot} formation has a determinant role in oxygenated compound production, since its fast formation disfavoured radical recombination. At 5 deg. C the oxidation leads mainly towards oxygenated compound formation, and plasma dissociation was the major phenomenon responsible for CH{sub 4} conversion. At 300 deg. C, higher CH{sub 4} conversion resulted from oxidative reactions induced by {center_dot}OH radicals with a chemistry predominantly oxidative, producing CO, H{sub 2}, CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O.

  15. In situ formation deposited ZnO nanoparticles on silk fabrics under ultrasound irradiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khanjani, Somayeh; Morsali, Ali; Joo, Sang W

    2013-03-01

    Deposition of zinc(II) oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on the surface of silk fabrics was prepared by sequential dipping steps in alternating bath of potassium hydroxide and zinc nitrate under ultrasound irradiation. This coating involves in situ generation and deposition of ZnO in a one step. The effects of ultrasound irradiation, concentration and sequential dipping steps on growth of the ZnO nanoparticles have been studied. Results show a decrease in the particles size as increasing power of ultrasound irradiation. Also, increasing of the concentration and sequential dipping steps increase particle size. The physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles were determined by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and wavelength dispersive X-ray (WDX). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Microwave-assisted synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles in biocompatible organic environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aivazoglou, E.; Metaxa, E.; Hristoforou, E.

    2018-04-01

    The development of magnetite and maghemite particles in uniform nanometer size has triggered the interest of the research community due to their many interesting properties leading to a wide range of applications, such as catalysis, nanomedicine-nanobiology and other engineering applications. In this study, a simple, time-saving and low energy-consuming, microwave-assisted synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles, is presented. The nanoparticles were prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis using polyethylene glycol (PEG) or PEG and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)/water solutions of chloride salts of iron in the presence of ammonia solution. The prepared nano-powders were characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transition Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy, Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Thermal analysis (TG/DSC). The produced nanoparticles are crystallized mostly in the magnetite and maghemite lattice exhibiting very similar shape and size, with indications of partial PEG coating. Heating time, microwave power and presence of PEG, are the key factors shaping the size properties of nanoparticles. The average size of particles ranges from 10.3 to 19.2 nm. The nanoparticles exhibit a faceted morphology, with zero contamination levels. The magnetic measurements indicate that the powders are soft magnetic materials with negligible coercivity and remanence, illustrating super-paramagnetic behavior.

  17. Ultrasound for low temperature dyeing of wool with acid dye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrero, F; Periolatto, M

    2012-05-01

    The possibility of reducing the temperature of conventional wool dyeing with an acid levelling dye using ultrasound was studied in order to reach exhaustion values comparable to those obtained with the standard procedure at 98 °C, obtaining dyed samples of good quality. The aim was to develop a laboratory method that could be transferred at industrial level, reducing both the energy consumption and fiber damage caused by the prolonged exposure to high temperature without the use of polluting auxiliary agents. Dyeings of wool fabrics were carried out in the temperature range between 60 °C and 80 °C using either mechanical or ultrasound agitation of the bath and coupling the two methods to compare the results. For each dyeing, the exhaustion curves of the dye bath were determined and the better results of dyeing kinetics were obtained with ultrasound coupled with mechanical stirring. Hence the corresponding half dyeing times, absorption rate constants according to Cegarra-Puente modified equation and ultrasonic efficiency were calculated in comparison with mechanical stirring alone. In the presence of ultrasound the absorption rate constants increased by at least 50%, at each temperature, confirming the synergic effect of sonication on the dyeing kinetics. Moreover the apparent activation energies were also evaluated and the positive effect of ultrasound was ascribed to the pre-exponential factor of the Arrhenius equation. It was also shown that the effect of ultrasound at 60 °C was just on the dye bath, practically unaffecting the wool fiber surface, as confirmed by the results of SEM analysis. Finally, fastness tests to rubbing and domestic laundering yielded good values for samples dyed in ultrasound assisted process even at the lower temperature. These results suggest the possibility, thanks to the use of ultrasound, to obtain a well equalized dyeing on wool working yet at 60°C, a temperature process strongly lower than 98°C, currently used in industry

  18. Implementation and utility of a daily ultrasound-based localization system with intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morr, Jody; DiPetrillo, Thomas; Tsai, J.-S.; Engler, Mark; Wazer, David E. MD.

    2002-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the clinical feasibility of daily computer-assisted transabdominal ultrasonography for target position verification in the setting of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: Twenty-three patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated using a sequential tomotherapy IMRT technique (Peacock) and daily computer-assisted transabdominal ultrasonography (BAT) for target localization. Patients were instructed to maintain a full bladder and were placed in the supine position using triangulation tattoos and a leg immobilizer to minimize pelvic rotation. The BAT ultrasound system is docked to the treatment collimator and electronically imports the CT simulation target contours and isocenter. The system is able to use the machine isocenter as a reference point to overlay the corresponding CT contours onto the ultrasound images captured in the transverse and sagittal planes. A touch screen menu is used to maneuver the CT contours in three dimensions such that they match the ultrasound images. The system then displays the three-dimensional couch shifts required to produce field alignment. Data were prospectively collected to measure the frequency by which useful ultrasound images were obtained, the amount of time required for localization/setup, and the direction/magnitude of the positional adjustments. Results: Of the 23 patients, the BAT ultrasound system produced images of sufficient quality to perform the overlay of the CT contours in 19 patients such that positional verification could be reliably performed. Poor image quality was associated with patient inability to maintain a full bladder, large body habitus, or other anatomic constraints. Of the 19 assessable patients, a total of 185 treatment alignments were performed (mean 8.8/patient). For all cases, the average time required for the daily ultrasound imaging and positional adjustments was 11.9 min. After the initial 5 cases, the user

  19. Optimizing Conditions for Ultrasound Extraction of Fullerenes from Coal Matrices

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Vítek, P.; Jehlička, J.; Frank, Otakar; Hamplová, Věra; Pokorná, Zdeňka; Juha, Libor; Boháček, J.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 17, č. 2 (2009), s. 109-122 ISSN 1536-383X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/07/0772; GA ČR GA205/03/1468 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503; CEZ:AV0Z10100520 Keywords : fullerene C60 * Ultrasound -assisted extraction * Extraction yield * Fullerene decomposition Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 0.710, year: 2009

  20. Transesterification of coconut oil for FAME production using ultrasound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Supriadi, Eko; Marlinda, Lenny; Prajitno, Danawati Hari; Mahfud, Mahfud

    2017-05-01

    To overcome energy crisis, the vegetable oils-derived biofuel can be chosen as an alternative to petroleum-based diesel. The transesterification of coconut oil in methanol with K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst using ultrasound-assisted to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) as one of type biofuel was studied. The reaction occurred in batch reactor at a 9 : 1 molar ratio of methanol to coconut oil. The following reaction conditions were used in the catalytic test : concentration of catalyst to oil of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5%, the reaction time of 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 s, and the frequency ultrasonication of 20 and 40 KHz. At first, the preparation of K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was done and followed by transesterification process. After reaction, the phase separation and purification from impurities were done. Finally, FAME was analized based on this parameters, i.e., yield, density, viscosity, and flash point. FAME yield of 93.76% was obtained at the frequency ultrasonication of 40 kHz with K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst concentration to oil of 2.5 wt.% for 150 s. It's the best conditions for FAME production by transesterification of coconut oil using ultrasound-assisted.

  1. Interstitial Matrix Prevents Therapeutic Ultrasound From Causing Inertial Cavitation in Tumescent Subcutaneous Tissue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koulakis, John P; Rouch, Joshua; Huynh, Nhan; Dubrovsky, Genia; Dunn, James C Y; Putterman, Seth

    2018-01-01

    We search for cavitation in tumescent subcutaneous tissue of a live pig under application of pulsed, 1-MHz ultrasound at 8 W cm -2 spatial peak and pulse-averaged intensity. We find no evidence of broadband acoustic emission indicative of inertial cavitation. These acoustic parameters are representative of those used in external-ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty and in physical therapy and our null result brings into question the role of cavitation in those applications. A comparison of broadband acoustic emission from a suspension of ultrasound contrast agent in bulk water with a suspension injected subcutaneously indicates that the interstitial matrix suppresses cavitation and provides an additional mechanism behind the apparent lack of in-vivo cavitation to supplement the absence of nuclei explanation offered in the literature. We also find a short-lived cavitation signal in normal, non-tumesced tissue that disappears after the first pulse, consistent with cavitation nuclei depletion in vivo. Copyright © 2018 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Comparison of conventional and ultrasound-assisted extraction of carvone and limonene from caraway seeds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chemat, S.; Lagha, A.; AitAmar, H.; Bartels, P.V.; Chemat, F.

    2004-01-01

    Extraction experiments with hexane were carried out at atmospheric pressure in Soxhlet, conventional and ultrasound extractions of flaked caraway seeds, and detailed results are given for two major plant extract components, carvone and limonene. The results indicate that carvone yield and plant

  3. Extraction Optimization, Characterization, and Bioactivities of Polysaccharides from Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine Employing Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yu-Jie; Mo, Xue-Lin; Tang, Xiao-Zhang; Li, Jiang-Hua; Hu, Mei-Bian; Yan, Dan; Peng, Wei; Wu, Chun-Jie

    2017-06-09

    In this study, the ultrasound-assisted extraction of polysaccharides (PSA) from Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine (PRPCA) was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The structural characteristics of PSA were analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, high performance gel permeation chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography, respectively. In addition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of PSA were studied by different in vitro assays. Results indicated that the optimal extraction conditions were as follows: the ratio of water to raw of 30 mL/g, extraction time of 46.50 min, ultrasonic temperature of 72.00 °C, and ultrasonic power of 230 W. Under these conditions, the obtained PSA yield (13.21 ± 0.37%) was closely agreed with the predicted yield by the model. The average molecular weights of the PSA were estimated to be 5.34 × 10³ and 6.27 × 10⁵ Da. Monosaccharide composition analysis indicated that PSA consisted of mannose, galactose uronic acid, glucose, galactose, arabinose with a molar ratio of 1.83:0.55:75.75:1.94:0.45. Furthermore, PSA exhibited moderate antioxidant and antibacterial activities in vitro. Collectively, this study provides a promising strategy to obtain bioactive polysaccharides from processed products of herbal medicines.

  4. Simultaneous determination of organophosphorus pesticides and phthalates in baby food samples by ultrasound-vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction and GC-IT/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Notardonato, Ivan; Salimei, Elisabetta; Russo, Mario Vincenzo; Avino, Pasquale

    2018-05-01

    Baby foods are either a soft, liquid paste or an easily chewed food since babies lack developed muscles and teeth to chew effectively. Babies typically move to consuming baby food once nursing or formula is not sufficient for the child's appetite. Some commercial baby foods have been criticized for their contents. This article focuses on the simultaneous determination of organophosphorus pesticides and phthalates by means of a method based on ultrasound-vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry (GC-IT/MS). The protocol developed allowed the determination of six phthalates [dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, isobutyl cyclohexyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate] and 19 organophosphorus pesticides. Freeze-dried product samples (0.1-0.2 g) were dissolved in 10 mL of warm distilled water along with 5 μL of an internal standard (anthracene at 10 mg mL -1 in acetone): the choice of extraction solvent was studied, with the most suitable being n-heptane, which is used for phthalate determination in similar matrices. The solution, held for 5 min in a vortex mixer and for 6 min in a 100-W ultrasonic bath to favor solvent dispersion and consequently analyte extraction, was centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 30 min. Then 1 μL was injected into the GC-IT/MS system (SE-54 capillary column; length 30 m, inner diameter 250 μm, film thickness 0.25 μm). All analytical parameters investigated are discussed in depth. The method was applied to real commercial freeze-dried samples: significant contaminant concentrations were not found. Graphical abstract Simultaneous and sensitive determination of organophosphorus pesticides and phthalates in baby foods by the ultrasound-vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction ֪gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry procedure. 1 methacrifos, 2 pirofos, 3 phorate, 4 seraphos, 5 diazinon, 6 etrimphos, 7 dichlofenthion, 8

  5. Real-time ultrasound-guided spinal anaesthesia: a prospective observational study of a new approach.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Conroy, P H

    2013-01-01

    Identification of the subarachnoid space has traditionally been achieved by either a blind landmark-guided approach or using prepuncture ultrasound assistance. To assess the feasibility of performing spinal anaesthesia under real-time ultrasound guidance in routine clinical practice we conducted a single center prospective observational study among patients undergoing lower limb orthopaedic surgery. A spinal needle was inserted unassisted within the ultrasound transducer imaging plane using a paramedian approach (i.e., the operator held the transducer in one hand and the spinal needle in the other). The primary outcome measure was the success rate of CSF acquisition under real-time ultrasound guidance with CSF being located in 97 out of 100 consecutive patients within median three needle passes (IQR 1-6). CSF was not acquired in three patients. Subsequent attempts combining landmark palpation and pre-puncture ultrasound scanning resulted in successful spinal anaesthesia in two of these patients with the third patient requiring general anaesthesia. Median time from spinal needle insertion until intrathecal injection completion was 1.2 minutes (IQR 0.83-4.1) demonstrating the feasibility of this technique in routine clinical practice.

  6. Focused cardiac ultrasound is feasible in the general practice setting and alters diagnosis and management of cardiac disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Yates

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Ultrasound-assisted examination of the cardiovascular system with focused cardiac ultrasound by the treating physician is non-invasive and changes diagnosis and management of patient’s with suspected cardiac disease. This has not been reported in a general practice setting. Aim: To determine whether focused cardiac ultrasound performed on patients aged over 50 years changes the diagnosis and management of cardiac disease by a general practitioner. Design and setting: A prospective observational study of 80 patients aged over 50 years and who had not received echocardiography or chest CT within 12 months presenting to a general practice. Method: Clinical assessment and management of significant cardiac disorders in patients presenting to general practitioners were recorded before and after focused cardiac ultrasound. Echocardiography was performed by a medical student with sufficient training, which was verified by an expert. Differences in diagnosis and management between conventional and ultrasound-assisted assessment were recorded. Results and conclusion: Echocardiography and interpretation were acceptable in all patients. Significant cardiac disease was detected in 16 (20% patients, including aortic stenosis in 9 (11% and cardiac failure in 7 (9%, which were missed by clinical examination in 10 (62.5% of these patients. Changes in management occurred in 12 patients (15% overall and 75% of those found to have significant cardiac disease including referral for diagnostic echocardiography in 8 (10%, commencement of heart failure treatment in 3 (4% and referral to a cardiologist in 1 patient (1%. Routine focused cardiac ultrasound is feasible and frequently alters the diagnosis and management of cardiac disease in patients aged over 50 years presenting to a general practice.

  7. Exploitation of sub-micron cavitation nuclei to enhance ultrasound-mediated transdermal transport and penetration of vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatnagar, Sunali; Kwan, James J; Shah, Apurva R; Coussios, Constantin-C; Carlisle, Robert C

    2016-09-28

    Inertial cavitation mediated by ultrasound has been previously shown to enable skin permeabilisation for transdermal drug and vaccine delivery, by sequentially applying the ultrasound then the therapeutic in liquid form on the skin surface. Using a novel hydrogel dosage form, we demonstrate that the use of sub-micron gas-stabilising polymeric nanoparticles (nanocups) to sustain and promote cavitation activity during simultaneous application of both drug and vaccine results in a significant enhancement of both the dose and penetration of a model vaccine, Ovalbumin (OVA), to depths of 500μm into porcine skin. The nanocups themselves exceeded the penetration depth of the vaccine (up to 700μm) due to their small size and capacity to 'self-propel'. In vivo murine studies indicated that nanocup-assisted ultrasound transdermal vaccination achieved significantly (pultrasound-assisted vaccine delivery in the presence of nanocups demonstrated substantially higher specific anti-OVA IgG antibody levels compared to other transdermal methods. Further optimisation can lead to a viable, safe and non-invasive delivery platform for vaccines with potential use in a primary care setting or personalized self-vaccination at home. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. The synthesis of α-aryl-α-aminophosphonates and α-aryl-α-aminophosphine oxides by the microwave-assisted Pudovik reaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erika Bálint

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A family of α-aryl-α-aminophosphonates and α-aryl-α-aminophosphine oxides was synthesized by the microwave-assisted solvent-free addition of dialkyl phosphites and diphenylphosphine oxide, respectively, to imines formed from benzaldehyde derivatives and primary amines. After optimization, the reactivity was mapped, and the fine mechanism was evaluated by DFT calculations. Two α-aminophosphonates were subjected to an X-ray study revealing a racemic dimer formation made through a N–H···O=P intermolecular hydrogen bridges pair.

  9. Effect of modulated ultrasound parameters on ultrasound-induced thrombolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soltani, Azita; Volz, Kim R; Hansmann, Doulas R

    2008-01-01

    The potential of ultrasound to enhance enzyme-mediated thrombolysis by application of constant operating parameters (COP) has been widely demonstrated. In this study, the effect of ultrasound with modulated operating parameters (MOP) on enzyme-mediated thrombolysis was investigated. The MOP protocol was applied to an in vitro model of thrombolysis. The results were compared to a COP with the equivalent soft tissue thermal index (TIS) over the duration of ultrasound exposure of 30 min (p -2 ± 0.01 μm and 1.99 x 10 -2 ± 0.004 μm, respectively (p < 0.74). No signatures of inertial or stable cavitation were observed for either acoustic protocol. In conclusion, due to mechanisms other than cavitation, application of ultrasound with modulated operating parameters has the potential to significantly enhance the relative lysis enhancement compared to application of ultrasound with constant operating parameters.

  10. Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Different Rotator Cuff Lesions Using Shoulder Musculoskeletal Ultrasound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Ruey-Feng; Lee, Chung-Chien; Lo, Chung-Ming

    2016-09-01

    The lifetime prevalence of shoulder pain approaches 70%, which is mostly attributable to rotator cuff lesions such as inflammation, calcific tendinitis and tears. On clinical examination, shoulder ultrasound is recommended for the detection of lesions. However, there exists inter-operator variability in diagnostic accuracy because of differences in the experience and expertise of operators. In this study, a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system was developed to assist ultrasound operators in diagnosing rotator cuff lesions and to improve the practicality of ultrasound examination. The collected cases included 43 cases of inflammation, 30 cases of calcific tendinitis and 26 tears. For each case, the lesion area and texture features were extracted from the entire lesions and combined in a multinomial logistic regression classifier for lesion classification. The proposed CAD achieved an accuracy of 87.9%. The individual accuracy of this CAD system was 88.4% for inflammation, 83.3% for calcific tendinitis and 92.3% for tears. Cohen's k was 0.798. On the basis of its diagnostic performance, clinical use of this CAD technique has promise. Copyright © 2016 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. [Basic concept in computer assisted surgery].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merloz, Philippe; Wu, Hao

    2006-03-01

    To investigate application of medical digital imaging systems and computer technologies in orthopedics. The main computer-assisted surgery systems comprise the four following subcategories. (1) A collection and recording process for digital data on each patient, including preoperative images (CT scans, MRI, standard X-rays), intraoperative visualization (fluoroscopy, ultrasound), and intraoperative position and orientation of surgical instruments or bone sections (using 3D localises). Data merging based on the matching of preoperative imaging (CT scans, MRI, standard X-rays) and intraoperative visualization (anatomical landmarks, or bone surfaces digitized intraoperatively via 3D localiser; intraoperative ultrasound images processed for delineation of bone contours). (2) In cases where only intraoperative images are used for computer-assisted surgical navigation, the calibration of the intraoperative imaging system replaces the merged data system, which is then no longer necessary. (3) A system that provides aid in decision-making, so that the surgical approach is planned on basis of multimodal information: the interactive positioning of surgical instruments or bone sections transmitted via pre- or intraoperative images, display of elements to guide surgical navigation (direction, axis, orientation, length and diameter of a surgical instrument, impingement, etc. ). And (4) A system that monitors the surgical procedure, thereby ensuring that the optimal strategy defined at the preoperative stage is taken into account. It is possible that computer-assisted orthopedic surgery systems will enable surgeons to better assess the accuracy and reliability of the various operative techniques, an indispensable stage in the optimization of surgery.

  12. Degradation of edible oil during food processing by ultrasound: electron paramagnetic resonance, physicochemical, and sensory appreciation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pingret, Daniella; Durand, Grégory; Fabiano-Tixier, Anne-Sylvie; Rockenbauer, Antal; Ginies, Christian; Chemat, Farid

    2012-08-08

    During ultrasound processing of lipid-containing food, some off-flavors can be detected, which can incite depreciation by consumers. The impacts of ultrasound treatment on sunflower oil using two different ultrasound horns (titanium and pyrex) were evaluated. An electron paramagnetic resonance study was performed to identify and quantify the formed radicals, along with the assessment of classical physicochemical parameters such as peroxide value, acid value, anisidine value, conjugated dienes, polar compounds, water content, polymer quantification, fatty acid composition, and volatiles profile. The study shows an increase of formed radicals in sonicated oils, as well as the modification of physicochemical parameters evidencing an oxidation of treated oils.

  13. Copper oxide assisted cysteine hierarchical structures for immunosensor application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pandey, Chandra Mouli [Biomedical Instrumentation Section, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi 110012 (India); Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005 (India); Sumana, Gajjala, E-mail: sumanagajjala@gmail.com [Biomedical Instrumentation Section, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi 110012 (India); Tiwari, Ida [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005 (India)

    2014-09-08

    The present work describes the promising electrochemical immunosensing strategy based on copper (II) assisted hierarchical cysteine structures (CuCys) varying from star to flower like morphology. The CuCys having average size of 10 μm have been synthesised using L-Cysteine as initial precursor in presence of copper oxide under environmentally friendly conditions in aqueous medium. To delineate the synthesis mechanism, detailed structural investigations have been carried out using characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The electrochemical behaviour of self-assembled CuCys on gold electrode shows surface controlled electrode reaction with an apparent electron transfer rate constant of 3.38 × 10{sup −4 }cm s{sup −1}. This innovative platform has been utilized to fabricate an immunosensor by covalently immobilizing monoclonal antibodies specific for Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli). Under the optimal conditions, the fabricated immunosensor is found to be sensitive and specific for the detection of E. coli with a detection limit of 10 cfu/ml.

  14. Ultrasound Mediated Microbubbles Destruction Augmented Sonolysis: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Hai; Zhu, Qiong; Gao, Yunhua; Xia, Hongmei; Tan, Kaibin; He, Ying; Liu, Zheng; Xu, Yali

    2017-01-01

    This study was aimed at exploring ultrasound mediated microbubbles destruction (UMMD) assisted sonolysis in both the in vitro and in vivo clots. Therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) and lipid microbubbles (MBs) were used in whole blood clots and divided into the control, TUS group, and TUS + MB group. Thrombolytic rates and microscopy were performed. Color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and angiography were performed to evaluate the recanalization rates and flow scores in femoral arterial thrombus (FAT) in rabbits. FAT were dyed with H&E. The average thrombolytic ratios of TUS + MB group were significantly higher than those of TUS group and the control group (both P cavitation via UMMD.

  15. Microwave assisted direct saponification for the simultaneous determination of cholesterol and cholesterol oxides in shrimp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza, Hugo A L; Mariutti, Lilian R B; Bragagnolo, Neura

    2017-05-01

    A novel microwave-assisted direct saponification method for the simultaneous determination of cholesterol and cholesterol oxides in shrimp was developed and validated. Optimal saponification conditions, determined by means of an experimental design, were achieved using 500mg of sample and 20mL of 1mol/L KOH ethanol solution for 16min at 45°C at maximum power at 200W and magnetic stirring at 120rpm. Higher extraction of cholesterol oxides in a reduced saponification time (∼75 times) was achieved in comparison with the direct cold saponification method. The new method showed low detection (≤0.57μg/mL) and quantification (≤1.73μg/mL) limits, good repeatability (≤10.50% intraday and ≤8.56% interday) and low artifact formation (evaluated by using a deuterated cholesterol-D6 standard). Raw, salted and dried-salted shrimps were successfully analyzed by the validated method. The content of cholesterol oxides increased after salting and decreased after drying. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Improving needle tip identification during ultrasound-guided procedures in anaesthetic practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholten, H J; Pourtaherian, A; Mihajlovic, N; Korsten, H H M; A Bouwman, R

    2017-07-01

    Ultrasound guidance is becoming standard practice for needle-based interventions in anaesthetic practice, such as vascular access and peripheral nerve blocks. However, difficulties in aligning the needle and the transducer can lead to incorrect identification of the needle tip, possibly damaging structures not visible on the ultrasound screen. Additional techniques specifically developed to aid alignment of needle and probe or identification of the needle tip are now available. In this scoping review, advantages and limitations of the following categories of those solutions are presented: needle guides; alterations to needle or needle tip; three- and four-dimensional ultrasound; magnetism, electromagnetic or GPS systems; optical tracking; augmented (virtual) reality; robotic assistance; and automated (computerised) needle detection. Most evidence originates from phantom studies, case reports and series, with few randomised clinical trials. Improved first-pass success and reduced performance time are the most frequently cited benefits, whereas the need for additional and often expensive hardware is the greatest limitation to widespread adoption. Novice ultrasound users seem to benefit most and great potential lies in education. Future research should focus on reporting relevant clinical parameters to learn which technique will benefit patients most in terms of success and safety. © 2017 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

  17. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... ultrasound. top of page How does the procedure work? Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles ... modality for the diagnosis and monitoring of pregnant women and their unborn babies. Ultrasound provides real-time ...

  18. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... of page How is the procedure performed? For most ultrasound exams, you will be positioned lying face- ... Ultrasound examinations are painless and easily tolerated by most patients. Ultrasound exams in which the transducer is ...

  19. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. Conventional ultrasound displays the images in thin, flat sections of the body. Advancements in ultrasound technology include three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound that formats ...

  20. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... D images. A Doppler ultrasound study may be part of an ultrasound examination. Doppler ultrasound , also called ... terms of the distance traveled per unit of time, rather than as a color picture. It can ...

  1. Ultrasound assisted destruction of estrogen hormones in aqueous solution: Effect of power density, power intensity and reactor configuration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suri, Rominder P.S.; Nayak, Mohan; Devaiah, Uthappa; Helmig, Edward

    2007-01-01

    There are many reports documenting the adverse effects, such as feminization of fish, of estrogen hormones in the environment. One of the major sources of these compounds is from municipal wastewater effluents. The biological processes at municipal wastewater treatment plants cannot completely remove these compounds. This paper discusses the use of ultrasound to destroy estrogen compounds in water. The study examines the effect of ultrasound power density and power intensity on the destruction of various estrogen compounds which include: 17α-estradiol, 17β-estradiol, estrone, estriol, equilin, 17α-dihydroequilin, 17α-ethinyl estradiol and norgestrel. These tests were conducted in single component batch and flow through reactors using 0.6, 2 and 4 kW ultrasound sources. The sonolysis process produced 80-90% destruction of individual estrogens at initial concentration of 10 μg/L within 40-60 min of contact time. First order rate constants for the individual compounds under different conditions are presented. The estrogen degradation rates increase with increase in power intensity. However, the energy efficiency of the reactor was higher at lower power density. The 4 kW ultrasound reactor was more energy efficient compared to the 0.6 and 2 kW sonicators

  2. Impact of environmental tobacco smoke exposure in women on oxidative stress in the antral follicle and assisted reproduction outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazemi, Ashraf; Ramezanzadeh, Fatemeh; Esfahani, Mohammad Hosein Nasr; Saboor-Yaraghi, Ali Akbar; Nejat, Saharnaz; Rahimi-Foroshani, Abbas

    2013-01-01

    Background: Cigarette smoke contains many oxidants and may alter the human reproduction by inducing oxidative stress (OS) in both active and passive smokers. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure on oxidative stress in the follicular fluid and the assisted reproduction outcomes. Materials and Methods: An observational prospective study was carried out on 236 infertile women, who underwent assisted reproduction cycles. The ETS exposure was assessed using self-reported ETS exposure and the cotinine level in follicular fluid. To evaluate the OS in follicular fluid (FF) malon-di-aldehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were measured. The number of retrieved oocytes, rate of metaphase II stage oocytes, fertilization rate, good cleavage rate, and no-fragmented embryo rate were considered as the assisted reproduction outcomes. The results were adjusted for age, body mass index, duration, and etiology of infertility; P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: The MDA and TAC levels in FF were not related to the self-report number of the weekly ETS exposure and cotinine levels in FF. Also, the number of retrieved oocytes, MII stage oocytes, fertilization rate, good cleavage rate, and no-fragmented embryo rate were not related to the cotinine level and weekly ETS exposure. However, in women whose cotinine levels in FF were lower and equal/above 3.5 ng/ml, the number of retrieved oocytes was higher (12.63 ± .71 vs. 9.28 ± 1.11, P = 0.01). The relationship between the MDA level and cleavage rate (Beta = −18.5, confidence interval-34.9 and-2.1, P reproduction success by influencing the number of available oocytes. Although, the OS in a follicular environment affect the ability of oocytes to reach the specific cleavage stages at appropriate time intervals, it does not mediate poor-assisted reproduction outcomes due to ETS exposure. PMID:24379845

  3. Ultrasound: a subexploited tool for sample preparation in metabolomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luque de Castro, M D; Delgado-Povedano, M M

    2014-01-02

    Metabolomics, one of the most recently emerged "omics", has taken advantage of ultrasound (US) to improve sample preparation (SP) steps. The metabolomics-US assisted SP step binomial has experienced a dissimilar development that has depended on the area (vegetal or animal) and the SP step. Thus, vegetal metabolomics and US assisted leaching has received the greater attention (encompassing subdisciplines such as metallomics, xenometabolomics and, mainly, lipidomics), but also liquid-liquid extraction and (bio)chemical reactions in metabolomics have taken advantage of US energy. Also clinical and animal samples have benefited from US assisted SP in metabolomics studies but in a lesser extension. The main effects of US have been shortening of the time required for the given step, and/or increase of its efficiency or availability for automation; nevertheless, attention paid to potential degradation caused by US has been scant or nil. Achievements and weak points of the metabolomics-US assisted SP step binomial are discussed and possible solutions to the present shortcomings are exposed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Ultrasound in Space Medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dulchavsky, Scott A.; Sargsyan, A.E.

    2009-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the use of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in microgravity environments. The goals of research in ultrasound usage in space environments are: (1) Determine accuracy of ultrasound in novel clinical conditions. (2) Determine optimal training methodologies, (3) Determine microgravity associated changes and (4) Develop intuitive ultrasound catalog to enhance autonomous medical care. Also uses of Ultrasound technology in terrestrial applications are reviewed.

  5. Double spike isotope dilution GC-ICP-MS for evaluation of mercury species transformation in real fish samples using ultrasound-assisted extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esteban-Fernández, Diego; Mirat, Manuela; de la Hinojosa, M Ignacia Martín; Alonso, J Ignacio García

    2012-08-29

    Sample preparation continues being a key factor to obtain fast and reliable quantification of Hg species. Assisted procedures enhance the efficiency and reduce the extraction time; however, collateral species transformations have been observed. Moreover, differential interconversions have been observed even between similar matrixes, which introduce an important uncertainty for real sample analysis. Trying to minimize Hg species transformations, we have tested a soft ultrasound-assisted extraction procedure. Species quantification and transformations have been evaluated using double spike isotope dilution analysis (IDA) together with gas chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICP-MS) for a CRM material (Tort-2) and shark and swordfish muscle samples. Optimum extraction solution and sonication time led to quantitative extraction and accurate determination of MeHg and IHg in a short time, although different behaviors regarding species preservation were observed depending on the sample. Negligible species transformations were observed in the analysis of the CRM, while a small but significant demethylation factor was observed in the case of real samples. In comparison with other extraction procedures, species transformations became smaller, and fewer differences between fish species were found. Similar results were obtained for fresh and lyophilized samples of both fish samples, which permit one to analyze the fresh sample directly and save time in the sample preparation step. The high grade of species preservation and the affordability of the extraction procedure allow one to obtain accurate determinations even for routine laboratories using quantification techniques, which do not estimate species transformations.

  6. Calibration of redox potential in sperm wash media and evaluation of oxidation-reduction potential values in various assisted reproductive technology culture media using MiOXSYS system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panner Selvam, M K; Henkel, R; Sharma, R; Agarwal, A

    2018-03-01

    Oxidation-reduction potential describes the balance between the oxidants and antioxidants in fluids including semen. Various artificial culture media are used in andrology and IVF laboratories for sperm preparation and to support the development of fertilized oocytes under in vitro conditions. The composition and conditions of these media are vital for optimal functioning of the gametes. Currently, there are no data on the status of redox potential of sperm processing and assisted reproduction media. The purpose of this study was to compare the oxidation-reduction potential values of the different media and to calibrate the oxidation-reduction potential values of the sperm wash medium using oxidative stress inducer cumene hydroperoxide and antioxidant ascorbic acid. Redox potential was measured in 10 different media ranging from sperm wash media, freezing media and assisted reproductive technology one-step medium to sequential media. Oxidation-reduction potential values of the sequential culture medium and one-step culture medium were lower and significantly different (p value to identify the physiological range of oxidation-reduction potential that does not have any adverse effect on normal physiological sperm function. © 2017 American Society of Andrology and European Academy of Andrology.

  7. Atypically presenting kaposiform hemangioendothelioma of the knee: ultrasound findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdem Toslak, Iclal; Stegman, Matthew; Reiter, Michael P; Barkan, Güliz A; Borys, Dariusz; Lim-Dunham, Jennifer E

    2018-04-10

    Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is a rare vascular tumor of early childhood and infancy. Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon, a common complication of KHE, is characterized by life-threatening thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia, and consumption coagulopathy. There may be atypical cases that do not present with Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon and do have atypical imaging findings. Knowledge of atypical imaging features may assist radiologists in identifying KHE. In this report, we present a 4-year-old case of KHE with atypical ultrasound findings.

  8. Microwave-assisted synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles in biocompatible organic environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Aivazoglou

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The development of magnetite and maghemite particles in uniform nanometer size has triggered the interest of the research community due to their many interesting properties leading to a wide range of applications, such as catalysis, nanomedicine-nanobiology and other engineering applications. In this study, a simple, time-saving and low energy-consuming, microwave-assisted synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles, is presented. The nanoparticles were prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis using polyethylene glycol (PEG or PEG and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD/water solutions of chloride salts of iron in the presence of ammonia solution. The prepared nano-powders were characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD, Transition Electron Microscopy (TEM, Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR, Raman Spectroscopy, Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS and Thermal analysis (TG/DSC. The produced nanoparticles are crystallized mostly in the magnetite and maghemite lattice exhibiting very similar shape and size, with indications of partial PEG coating. Heating time, microwave power and presence of PEG, are the key factors shaping the size properties of nanoparticles. The average size of particles ranges from 10.3 to 19.2 nm. The nanoparticles exhibit a faceted morphology, with zero contamination levels. The magnetic measurements indicate that the powders are soft magnetic materials with negligible coercivity and remanence, illustrating super-paramagnetic behavior.

  9. Mechanistic insight into ultrasound induced enhancement of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of Parthenium hysterophorus for ethanol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Shuchi; Agarwal, Mayank; Sarma, Shyamali; Goyal, Arun; Moholkar, Vijayanand S

    2015-09-01

    This paper presents investigations into mechanism of ultrasound assisted bioethanol synthesis using Parthenium hysterophorus biomass through simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) mode. Approach of coupling experimental results to mathematical model for SSF using Genetic Algorithm based optimization has been adopted. Comparison of model parameters for experiments with mechanical shaking and sonication (10% duty cycle) give an interesting mechanistic account of influence of ultrasound on SSF system. A 4-fold rise in ethanol and cell mass productivity is seen with ultrasound. The analysis reveals following facets of influence of ultrasound on SSF: increase in Monod constant for glucose for cell growth, maximal specific growth rate and inhibition constant of cell growth by glucose and reduction in specific cell death rate. Values of inhibition constant of cell growth by ethanol (K3E), and constants for growth associated (a) and non-growth associated (b) ethanol production remained unaltered with sonication. Beneficial effects of ultrasound are attributed to enhanced cellulose hydrolysis, enhanced trans-membrane transport of substrate and products as well as dilution of the toxic substances due to micro-convection induced by ultrasound. Intrinsic physiological functioning of cells remained unaffected by ultrasound as indicated by unaltered values of K3E, a and b. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Carbohydrate-Assisted Combustion Synthesis To Realize High-Performance Oxide Transistors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Binghao; Zeng, Li; Huang, Wei; Melkonyan, Ferdinand S; Sheets, William C; Chi, Lifeng; Bedzyk, Michael J; Marks, Tobin J; Facchetti, Antonio

    2016-06-08

    Owing to high carrier mobilities, good environmental/thermal stability, excellent optical transparency, and compatibility with solution processing, thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on amorphous metal oxide semiconductors (AOSs) are promising alternatives to those based on amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and low-temperature (IGZO) TFTs suffer from low carrier mobilities and/or inferior bias-stress stability versus their sputtered counterparts. Here we report that three types of environmentally benign carbohydrates (sorbitol, sucrose, and glucose) serve as especially efficient fuels for IGZO film combustion synthesis to yield high-performance TFTs. The results indicate that these carbohydrates assist the combustion process by lowering the ignition threshold temperature and, for optimal stoichiometries, enhancing the reaction enthalpy. IGZO TFT mobilities are increased to >8 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) on SiO2/Si gate dielectrics with significantly improved bias-stress stability. The first correlations between precursor combustion enthalpy and a-MO densification/charge transport are established.

  11. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... through blood vessels. Ultrasound imaging is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. There are three types of pelvic ultrasound: ...

  12. Experimental investigations on a CRDI system assisted diesel engine fuelled with aluminium oxide nanoparticles blended biodiesel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Syed Aalam

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Experiments were conducted to determine engine performance, exhaust emissions and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder, common rail direct injection (CRDI system assisted diesel engine using diesel with 25 percentage of zizipus jujube methyl ester blended fuel (ZJME25. Along with this ZJME25 aluminium oxide nanoparticles were added as additive in mass fractions of 25 ppm (AONP 25 and 50 ppm (AONP 50 with the help of a mechanical Homogenizer and an ultrasonicator. It was observed that aluminium oxide nanoparticles blended fuel exhibits a significant reduction in specific fuel consumption and exhaust emissions at all operating loads. At the full load, the magnitude of HC and smoke emission for the ZJME25 before the addition of aluminium oxide nanoparticles was 13.459 g/kW h and 79 HSU, whereas it was 8.599 g/kW h and 49 HSU for the AONP 50 blended ZJME25 fuel respectively. The results also showed a considerable enhancement in brake thermal efficiency and heat release rate due to the influence of aluminium oxide nanoparticles addition in biodiesel–diesel blend.

  13. Activated carbon as catalyst for microwave-assisted wet peroxide oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Costa, Alicia L; Lopez-Perela, Lucia; Xu, Xiyan; Zazo, Juan A; Rodriguez, Juan J; Casas, Jose A

    2018-05-21

    This paper addresses the removal of four aromatic hydrocarbons typically found in petrochemical wastewater: benzene (B), toluene (T), o-xylene (X), and naphthalene (N), by microwave-assisted catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (MW-CWPO) using activated carbon (AC) as catalyst. Under the studied conditions, complete pollutant elimination (B, 1.28 mM; T, 1.09 mM; X, 0.94 mM; and N, 0.78 mM) was achieved, with more than 90% TOC removal after only 15-min reaction time, working at 120 °C, pH 0  = 3, AC at 1 g L -1 , and H 2 O 2 at the stoichiometric dose. Furthermore, in the case of toluene, naphthalene, and xylene, the hydroxylation and breakdown of the ring is very rapid and toxic intermediates were not detected. The process follows two steps: (i) pollutant adsorption onto AC followed by (ii) adsorbed compounds oxidation. Thus, MW-CWPO with AC as catalyst appears a promising way for a fast and effective process for B, T, X, and N removal in aqueous phase.

  14. Plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition of TiN/Al2O3 stacks for metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogeland, D.; Jinesh, K.B.; Roozeboom, F.; Besling, W.F.A.; Sanden, van de M.C.M.; Kessels, W.M.M.

    2009-01-01

    By employing plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition, thin films of Al2O3 and TiN are subsequently deposited in a single reactor at a single substrate temperature with the objective of fabricating high-quality TiN/Al2O3 / p-Si metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors. Transmission electron microscopy

  15. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... transducer sends out high-frequency sound waves (that the human ear cannot hear) into the body and then ... ultrasound , there are no known harmful effects on humans. top of page What are the limitations of General Ultrasound Imaging? Ultrasound waves are ...

  16. Determination of Oleanolic and Ursolic Acids in Hedyotis diffusa Using Hyphenated Ultrasound-Assisted Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction and Chromatography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Chi Wei

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Oleanolic acid (OA and ursolic acid (UA were extracted from Hedyotis diffusa using a hyphenated procedure of ultrasound-assisted and supercritical carbon dioxide (HSC–CO2 extraction at different temperatures, pressures, cosolvent percentages, and SC–CO2 flow rates. The results indicated that these parameters significantly affected the extraction yield. The maximal yields of OA (0.917 mg/g of dry plant and UA (3.540 mg/g of dry plant were obtained at a dynamic extraction time of 110 min, a static extraction time of 15 min, 28.2 MPa, and 56°C with a 12.5% (v/v cosolvent (ethanol/water = 82/18, v/v and SC–CO2 flowing at 2.3 mL/min (STP. The extracted yields were then analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC to quantify the OA and UA. The present findings revealed that H. diffusa is a potential source of OA and UA. In addition, using the hyphenated procedure for extraction is a promising and alternative process for recovering OA and UA from H. diffusa at high concentrations.

  17. Determination of Oleanolic and Ursolic Acids in Hedyotis diffusa Using Hyphenated Ultrasound-Assisted Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction and Chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Show-Jen

    2015-01-01

    Oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) were extracted from Hedyotis diffusa using a hyphenated procedure of ultrasound-assisted and supercritical carbon dioxide (HSC–CO2) extraction at different temperatures, pressures, cosolvent percentages, and SC–CO2 flow rates. The results indicated that these parameters significantly affected the extraction yield. The maximal yields of OA (0.917 mg/g of dry plant) and UA (3.540 mg/g of dry plant) were obtained at a dynamic extraction time of 110 min, a static extraction time of 15 min, 28.2 MPa, and 56°C with a 12.5% (v/v) cosolvent (ethanol/water = 82/18, v/v) and SC–CO2 flowing at 2.3 mL/min (STP). The extracted yields were then analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to quantify the OA and UA. The present findings revealed that H. diffusa is a potential source of OA and UA. In addition, using the hyphenated procedure for extraction is a promising and alternative process for recovering OA and UA from H. diffusa at high concentrations. PMID:26089939

  18. Computer-assisted quantitative assessment of power Doppler US: effects of microbubble contrast agent in the differentiation of breast tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kettenbach, Joachim; Helbich, Thomas H.; Huber, Sabine; Zuna, Ivan; Dock, Wolfgang

    2005-01-01

    Rationale and objectives: To objectively quantify the effects of a microbubble contrast agent to differentiate breast tumors with power doppler ultrasound and to compare these results with color doppler ultrasound (CD US). Methods: In 47 patients a microbubble contrast agent was injected intravenously. Computer-assisted quantitative assessment of the color pixel density was performed to evaluate the increase in Doppler signals. Results were compared to previously published results of a color Doppler ultrasound study. Results: Peak color pixel density at contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasound was higher for carcinomas than for benign tumors (P < 0.03). Time to peak enhancement was shorter in carcinomas than in benign tumors (P < 0.01). For both parameters, diagnostic accuracy of power Doppler ultrasound was 69 and 78%, and for color Doppler ultrasound 62 and 76%, respectively. Conclusions: Quantitative assessment of contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasound showed significant differences in malignant and benign breast tumors. Diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced power Doppler ultrasound was higher compared to color Doppler ultrasound

  19. Grain fragmentation in ultrasonic-assisted TIG weld of pure aluminum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Qihao; Lin, Sanbao; Yang, Chunli; Fan, Chenglei; Ge, Hongliang

    2017-11-01

    Under the action of acoustic waves during an ultrasonic-assisted tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process, a grain of a TIG weld of aluminum alloy is refined by nucleation and grain fragmentation. Herein, effects of ultrasound on grain fragmentation in the TIG weld of aluminum alloy are investigated via systematic welding experiments of pure aluminum. First, experiments involving continuous and fixed-position welding are performed, which demonstrate that ultrasound can break the grain of the TIG weld of pure aluminum. The microstructural characteristics of an ultrasonic-assisted TIG weld fabricated by fixed-position welding are analyzed. The microstructure is found to transform from plane crystal, columnar crystal, and uniform equiaxed crystal into plane crystal, deformed columnar crystal, and nonuniform equiaxed crystal after application of ultrasound. Second, factors influencing ultrasonic grain fragmentation are investigated. The ultrasonic amplitude and welding current are found to have a considerable effect on grain fragmentation. The degree of fragmentation first increases and then decreases with an increase in ultrasonic amplitude, and it increases with an increase in welding current. Measurement results of the vibration of the weld pool show that the degree of grain fragmentation is related to the intensity of acoustic nonlinearity in the weld pool. The greater the intensity of acoustic nonlinearity, the greater is the degree of grain fragmentation. Finally, the mechanism of ultrasonic grain fragmentation in the TIG weld of pure aluminum is discussed. A finite element simulation is used to simulate the acoustic pressure and flow in the weld pool. The acoustic pressure in the weld pool exceeds the cavitation threshold, and cavitation bubbles are generated. The flow velocity in the weld pool does not change noticeably after application of ultrasound. It is concluded that the high-pressure conditions induced during the occurrence of cavitation, lead to grain

  20. Determination of phthalate esters in distillates by ultrasound-vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction (USVADLLME) coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montevecchi, Giuseppe; Masino, Francesca; Zanasi, Luca; Antonelli, Andrea

    2017-04-15

    A method for the extraction of phthalate esters (PAEs) by Ultrasound-Vortex-Assisted Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Micro-Extraction (USVADLLME) approach was optimised and applied for the first time to a historical series of brandies. These contaminants are widely spread in the environment as a consequence of about half century of use in different fields of applications. The concern about these substances and the recent legal restrictions of China in distillates import need a quick and sensitive method for their quantification. The proposed method, moreover, is environmentally oriented due to the disposal of micro-quantities of solvent required. In fact, sub-ppm-limits of detection were achieved with a solvent volume as low as 160μL. The analysed samples were within the legal limits, except for some very ancient brandies whose contamination was probably due to a PAEs concentration effect as a consequence of long ageing and for the use of plastic pipelines no more operative. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.