Heterocyclic polyimides containing siloxane groups in the main chain

BACKGROUND: Among the polymers widely studied for applications in advanced techniques, aromatic polyimides have received considerable attention due to their outstanding thermal stability associated with good electrical and mechanical properties. However, these polymers are usually difficult to process, being insoluble and without a glass transition. To improve the processing characteristics of polyimides, modification of their structure is often achieved by the introduction of flexible linkages in the macromolecular chain or various substituents on the aromatic rings. RESULTS: A series of polyimides and intermediate polyamidic acids were synthesized from aromatic oxadiazole‐diamines and a dianhydride containing a siloxane bridge (? R₂Si? O? SiR₂? ). These polymers exhibit good solubility in certain organic solvents and can be cast into thin and very thin films from their solutions. They exhibit high thermal stability with decomposition being above 440 °C and relatively low glass transition temperatures in the range 160–190 °C. These polymers show strong photoluminescence in the blue spectral region. CONCLUSION: The introduction of oxadiazole rings together with siloxane groups into the chains of aromatic polyimides gives highly thermostable polymers with remarkable solubility and film‐forming ability and that emit blue light, being attractive for applications in micro‐ and nanoelectronics and other related advanced fields. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Growth/no growth interfaces of Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enteritidis in model systems based on water activity, pH, temperature and ethanol concentration

This study focuses its attention on the boundary between the growth and no growth of three strains ofSalmonella enteritidis , Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus in the presence of growth controlling factors such as temperature, pH, water activity (A_w) and ethanol concentration. Preliminarly, the minimal values of pH, A_wand temperature, and the maximum ethanol concentrations allowing the growth of the considered micro-organisms were determined. The calculation of these values enabled the use of logistic model to evaluate the growth/no growth boundary for the bacteria in relation to the considered independent variables. The location of the growth/no-growth boundaries for S. enteritidis and Staph. aureus were strongly affected, at the same ethanol concentration, by temperature, pH and A_w. Among the considered species, Staph. aureus was endowed with the highest sensitivity to low pH values whileB. cereus's growth/no growth interface, was quite unaffected by the combination of the stresses, when the physico–chemical conditions were above the minimum for growth. The effects of temperature, A_wand ethanol on the limitation of growth of the considered species were not merely additive. It was possible to identify the combinations of such factors preventing the growth of Salmonella enteritidis, Staph. aureus and B. cereus.     

Decolorization of textile dyes by Bjerkandera sp. BOL 13 using waste biomass as carbon source

BACKGROUND: Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Trametes versicolor and Bjerkandera sp BOL13 were compared for decolorization of azo dyes supplied individually or as a mixture. The dye decolorization was also evaluated during continuous treatment under non‐sterile conditions using a lignocellulosic growth substrate. RESULTS: Bjerkandera sp BOL13 showed the highest dye decolorization potential. This fungus was also found to support high decolorization of Remazol Red RR at an initial pH of 4‐6 and when using straw as co‐substrate. The fungus was evaluated for Remazol Red RR decolorization in a continuously fed packed‐bed bioreactor operated under non‐sterile conditions with 3 days of hydraulic retention time. When glucose was supplied as growth‐substrate, decolorization efficiencies of 65‐90% were maintained for 12 days in a bioreactor packed with wooden material. The decolorization efficiency was lower when glucose was not fed to the fungus or when a plastic material was used as packing. Higher manganese peroxidase and laccase activities were also recorded when the wood packing was used. Contamination caused a drop in decolorization efficiency after 17‐19 days operation. CONCLUSIONS: The potential of Bjerkandera sp BOL13 for decolorization of azo dyes under non‐sterile conditions using lignocellulosic growth substrates was demonstrated. Research is needed to reduce contamination under non‐sterile conditions. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nitric oxide reduction in coal combustion: role of char surface complexes in heterogeneous reactions

Nitrogen oxides are one of the major environmental problems arising from fossil fuel combustion. Coal char is relatively rich in nitrogen, and so this is an important source of nitrogen oxides during coal combustion. However, due to its carbonaceous nature, char can also reduce NO through heterogeneous reduction. The objectives of this work were on one hand to compare NO emissions from coal combustion in two different types of equipment and on the other hand to study the influence of char surface chemistry on NO reduction. A series of combustion tests were carried out in two different scale devices: a thermogravimetric analyzer coupled to a mass spectrometer and an FTIR (TG-MS-FTIR) and a fluidized bed reactor with an on line battery of analyzers. The TG-MS-FTIR system was also used to perform a specific study on NO heterogeneous reduction reactions using chars with different surface chemistry. According to the results obtained, it can be said that the TG-MS-FTIR system provides valuable information about NO heterogeneous reduction and it can give good trends of the behavior in other combustion equipments (i.e., fluidized bed combustors). It has been also pointed out that NO-char interaction depends to a large extent on temperature. In the low-temperature range (<800 degrees C), NO heterogeneous reduction seems to be controlled by the evolution of surface complexes. In the high-temperature range (>800 degrees C), a different mechanism is involved in NO heterogeneous reduction, the nature of the carbon matrix being a key factor.     

Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016: purification and characterization of a cystathionine gamma-lyase and use as adjunct starter in cheesemaking

A homo-tetrameric approximately 160-kDa cystathionine gamma-lyase was purified to homogeneity from Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016 by four chromatographic steps. The activity was pyridoxal-5'-phosphate dependent and the enzyme catalyzed the alpha,gamma-elimination reaction of L-cystathionine, producing L-cysteine, ammonia and alpha-ketobutyrate. The enzyme was active towards a range of amino acids and amino acid derivatives, including methionine. The pH and temperature optima were found to be 8.0 and 35 degrees C. respectively. Isoelectric pH (pI) was approximately 5.0 as determined by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Sensitivity to chemical inhibitors was typical of lactococcal cystathionine gamma- and beta-lyases, except it was inhibited by sulphydryl reagents. The N-terminal sequence was MKFNTQLIHGGNSED, which had 100% homology with cystathionine beta-lyase of Lb. reuteri 104R (Accession Number (CAC05298). Lb. reuteri DSM 20016. together with 10 other strains of non-starter lactic acid bacteria, was used as adjunct starter in the production of miniature ('anestrato Pugliese-like cheeses. After 40 d ripening, the water-soluble extract of the cheeses with added Lactobacillus fermentum DT41 and Lb. reuteri DSM 20016 contained the highest enzyme activities on cystathionine and methionine substrates. Determinations of methanethiol, dimethyl sulphide, dimethyl disulphide and dimethyl trisulphide in the miniature cheeses confirmed the findings of enzyme activities.     

Pacemaker interference by magnetic fields at power line frequencies

Human exposure to external 50/60-Hz electric and magnetic fields induces electric fields within the body. These induced fields can cause interference with implanted pacemakers. In the case of exposure to magnetic fields, the pacemaker leads are subject to induced electromotive forces, with current return paths being provided by the conducting body tissues. Modern computing resources used in conjunction with millimeter-scale human body conductivity models make numerical modeling a viable technique for examining any such interference. In this paper, an existing well-verified scalar-potential finite-difference frequency-domain code is modified to handle thin conducting wires embedded in the body. The effects of each wire can be included numerically by a simple modification to the existing code. Results are computed for two pacemaker lead insertion paths, terminating at either atrial or ventricular electrodes in the heart. Computations are performed for three orthogonal 60-Hz magnetic field orientations. Comparison with simplified estimates from Faraday's law applied directly to extracorporeal loops representing unipolar leads underscores problems associated with this simplified approach. Numerically estimated electromagnetic interference (EMI) levels under the worst case scenarios are about 40 microT for atrial electrodes, and 140 microT for ventricular electrodes. These methods could also be applied to studying EMI with other implanted devices such as cardiac defibrillators.     

A SAED and HREM study of structural defects in brownmillerite,LaBa(x)Sr(1-x)CuGaOy related oxides

The synthesis and microstructural characterization, by means of selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM), of the solid solution LaBa(x)Sr(1-x)CuGaO5 (0.1 < or = 5 x < or = 0.9) is reported. Although an average brownmillerite Ima2 structure is proposed for the whole compositional range, SAED and HREM clearly show that structural defects appear as barium content increases.