Aloe vera gel is widely used as a functional ingredient in food processing. This gel is very unstable due to its high water activity. Drying process can be used to obtain shelf stable products. Response surface methodology was used to assess the effects of solution concentration (30-60% w/w), solution temperature (30-50°C) and immersion time (4-6h) at atmospheric pressure and constant solution ...

A general model explaining the origin of allometric laws of physiology is proposed based on coupled energy-transducing oscillator networks embedded in a physical d-dimensional space (d = 1, 2, 3). This approach integrates Mitchell's theory of chemi-osmosis with the Debye model of the thermal properties of solids. We derive a scaling rule that relates the energy generated by redox reactions in c...

Interventions for voluntary proenvironmental behavior change usually target a limited number of behaviors and have difficulties in achieving durable change. The EcoTeam Program (ETP) is an intervention package that aims to overcome these flaws. Through a combination of information, feedback, and social interaction in a group—the EcoTeam—participants focus on the environmental consequences of th...

The majority of adverse changes in watersheds impairing water quality occurred over a period of thirty to more than one hundred years. In many areas over a period of about 80 years more than 90% of the wetlands were drained, cultivated and converted to agricultural and urban uses. This conversion changed the redox status of the soils and soil cover with a concurrent large increase of suspended ...

While the product of microbial uranium reduction is often reported to be "UO(2)", a comprehensive characterization including stoichiometry and unit cell determination is available for only one Shewanella species. Here, we compare the products of batch uranyl reduction by a collection of dissimilatory metal- and sulfate-reducing bacteria of the genera Shewanella, Geobacter, Anaeromyxobacter, and...

Bank filtration induces flow of surface water through a hydraulically connected aquifer by excess pumping from a production well in the aquifer. This review presents the four main geochemical processes relevant for inorganic geochemistry, with a focus on iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn), during bank filtration: reduction near the bank, oxidation near the production well, carbonate dissolution, and ...

The antitumor agent 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazine 1,4-dioxide (tirapazamine, TPZ, 1) gains medicinal activity through its ability to selectively damage DNA in the hypoxic cells found inside solid tumors. This occurs via one-electron enzymatic reduction of TPZ to yield an oxygen-sensitive drug radical (2) that leads to oxidatively generated DNA damage under hypoxic conditions. Two possible mechani...

Based on the difference in the redox potentials between two metal species, the galvanic replacement reaction is known to create an irreversible process to generate hollow nanostructures in a wide range of shapes. In the context of galvanic replacement reaction, continuing etching leads to the general collapse of the hollow structures because of the excess amount of oxidizing agent. We demonstra...

A new approach is presented to form self-supported bimetallic nanosized solids with acid and redox catalytic properties. They are water-, air- and H2-stable, and are able to activate demanding C-C and C-H reactions. A detailed mechanistic study on the formation of the Ag-Fe bimetallic system shows that a rapid redox-coupled sequence between Ag+, O2 (air) and Fe2+ occurs, giving monodisperse Ag ...