Mixed oxide coatings for optics

Material mixtures offer new possibilities for synthesizing coating materials with tailored optical and mechanical properties. We present experimental results on mixtures of HfO2, ZrO2, and Al2O3, pursuing applications in UV coating technology, while the mixtures are prepared by magnetron sputtering, ion beam sputtering, plasma ion-assisted deposition (PIAD), and electron beam evaporation without assistance. The properties investigated include the refractive index, optical gap, thermal shift, and mechanical stress. The first high reflectors for UV applications have been deposited by PIAD.     

Stability of quercetin derivatives in vacuum impregnated apple slices after drying (microwave vacuum drying,air drying,freeze drying) and storage

Microwave vacuum drying (MVD) was investigated for apple slices enriched with quercetin derivatives by vacuum impregnation (VI). Additional freeze drying (FD) and air drying (AD) were conducted. Compared to native apples, the impregnated tissue resulted in higher moisture content, elevation of weight and significant browning, due to the incorporated VI solution. The total quercetin content and quercetin glycoside composition were not affected by MVD and FD. The vacuum conditions protect the polyphenols from oxygen dependent degradation and browning reactions. AD resulted in an average quercetin glycoside loss of 44% and undesirable changes, particularly discoloration. The degradation is caused by both non-enzymatic and enzymatic reactions. The pulsed microwave energy intake improved the drying result in structure and led to a faster drying process of 130 min. The bulk density of MVD apple chips (0.69 g/ml) ranged between 0.33 g/ml for FD and 0.75 g/ml for AD. The final moisture content was the lowest after FD (6.8 g/100 g), followed by 9.0 g/100 g after MVD and 12.7 g/100 g after AD. The shelf life was significantly influenced by storage temperature and time. After 12 month at 20 °C, the total quercetin content decreased by 21%.     

Charakterisierung der Dispersionsgüte von Carbon Nanotubes in Polymer‐Nanokompositen

A practical overview of possibilities and limits to characterize the state of dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in polymer based nanocomposites is given. The most important and widely available methods are discussed with practical employment in mind. One focus is the quantitative characterization of the state of dispersion in solid samples using microscopy techniques such as optical microscopy or transmission electron microscopy. For dispersions of CNTs in aqueous media, solvents or monomers a sedimentation analysis is presented. This way dispersability and dispersion state of CNTs can be assessed. Indirect methods such as electrical conductivity measurements and rheological tests, dynamic differential scanning calorimetry and mechanical test are discussed.     

One-sided monte carlo tolerance limit factors in the case of the random effects one-way layout-an algorithm for application in statistical quality control

Assuming the statistical model of the random effects one-way layout under the usual conditions (normality and independence) and considering a realization of this model, the present paper treats the problem of the computation of one-sided tolerance limits for the corresponding defining random variable on the basis of the Monte Carlo method. Since subpopulations occurring in this scope can be considered as batches and since the model under consideration is sometimes called ‘cluster sampling model’, it is obvious that the present problem has important applications in the field of statistical quality control.—The Monte Carlo approach together with its realization by a computer program for the determination of such tolerance limit factors proved elementary and effective. In particular, in the important cases of limited sampling information (costs), this approach led to more realistic values in comparison, with other approaches. An additional problem occurring in connection with simultaneous statistical inference was solved by means of the Bonferroni inequality. Finally, the paper contains a computer program (FORTRAN 77) the applicability and use of which is shown by numerical examples.     

Catalytic Carbon Monoxide Oxidation Using Bio-Templated Platinum Clusters

The catalytic properties of highly dispersed, bacterial surface layer supported nanoscale platinum clusters immobilized at alumina particles are studied with respect to carbon monoxide oxidation. Compared to samples prepared from platinum impregnated alumina, the templated metal clusters are catalytically active at lower temperatures. The catalytic behaviour of the samples is discussed with respect to their cluster morphology studied by TEM.     

Throwing off the shackles of a legacy system

Network information about cables, wire pairs, digital circuits, fiber, telephone numbers, central office equipment, and so on constitutes the basic building blocks for operating a local telephone company. GTE uses a mainframe system to maintain these information and service provisioning functions. The system, which we refer to as LegacyX, was developed and is owned by a third party vendor. Over the decades of LegacyX's operation, many other systems related to billing, service order entry, network testing, trouble administration, and inventory management have required interfaces to LegacyX. Without the information LegacyX provides, these systems would cease to function. Over the years, several patches have been applied to LegacyX to satisfy new requirements, and it has evolved into a massive black box. In summary, LegacyX has inherited all the disadvantages of large, embedded, legacy systems. It is very costly to maintain and virtually impossible to adapt to new services and technology. GTE had made 25 unsuccessful attempts to replace this legacy system. GTE was successful on the 26th attempt, replacing LegacyX with Domain (Distributed Object Management and Activation for Integrated Networks) in the Compania Dominicana de Telefonos (Codetel), the GTE owned telephone company in the Dominican Republic. This required a synergistic approach that brought together hardware, software, and people. This approach combined advanced software techniques with practical solutions to achieve a common goal shared by users, developers and managers     

HPLC with light scatter detector and chemometric data evaluation for the analysis of cocoa butter and vegetable fats

High performance liquid chromatography equipped with an evaporative light scatter detector was carried out in order to proof the authenticity of cocoa butter. Signals of 17 characteristic triglycerides have been used to develop two chemometric models. PLS was applied for quantitation while neural nets were used for classification. The sample pool was divided in a training set of 18 and a prediction set of 14 samples. The samples included mixtures of several vegetable fats with cocoa butter. A 15 × 4 × 1 feed forward net could be trained and within the prediction set only 2 samples were not correctly assigned. A PLS model with 9 factors was applied and the mean prediction error was found to be 2.5%. The small number of samples was found to be sufficient to show the potential of this data evaluation. Results are expected to improve with a greater data pool.     

Enzymatic production and physicochemical characterization of uncommon wax esters and monoglycerides

Wax esters from fatty alcohols and uncommon fatty acids were synthesized in yields up to 90% when commercially available microbial lipases fromRhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme^™) andCandida antarctica (SP 435) were used with limited water content in nonpolar solvents under mild conditions. The corresponding fatty acids were prepared by chemical conversion of naturally occurring resources (agricultural surpluses). Also, when phenylboronic acid was added as solubilizing agent in a nonpolar solvent, the direct enzymatic monoacylation of glycerol with uncommon fatty acids was successful. The measurement of π/A-isotherms by means of a Langmuir film balance indicated medium film pressures, medium or large molecular areas, and interesting phase behavior. The monolayer of a wax ester at the air/water interface could be directly visualized by Brewster angle microscopy.     

3-Methylarginine from Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae 22d/93 suppresses the bacterial blight caused by its close relative Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea

The epiphyte Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae 22d/93 (Pss22d) produces a toxin that strongly inhibits the growth of its relative, the plant pathogen P. syringae pv. glycinea. The inhibition can be overcome by supplementing the growth medium with the essential amino acid, L-arginine; this suggests that the toxin acts as an inhibitor of the arginine biosynthesis. The highly polar toxin was purified by bioassay-guided fractionation using ion-exchange chromatography and subsequent RP-HPLC fractionation. The structure of the natural product was identified by HR-ESI-MS, HR-ESI-MS/MS, and NMR spectroscopy experiments as 3-methylarginine. This amino acid has previously only been known in nature as a constituent of the peptide lavendomycin from Streptomyces lavendulae. Results of experiments in which labeled methionine was fed to Pss22d indicated that the key step in the biosynthesis of 3-methylarginine is the introduction of the methyl group by a S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferase. Transposon mutagenesis of Pss22d allowed the responsible SAM-dependent methyltransferase of the 3-methylarginine biosynthesis to be identified.