Apple Polyphenol Oxidase Inhibitor(s) from Common Housefly (Musca Domestica L.)

ABSTRACT: A new natural apple polyphenol oxidase (PPO) inhibitor(s) from housefly ( Musca domestica L.) was discovered. Crude inhibitor (s) isolated by buffer extraction, heat treatment, and dialysis from housefly pupae inhibited the activity of apple PPO up to 90% at pH values above 5.0. Inhibition was strictly pH-dependent. The inhibitor(s) was further characterized by employing heat, freezing and thawing, irradiation, pH adjustment, and ultrafiltration studies. The potential PPO inhibitor(s) was stable to heating at 100 °C for 1 h, repeated freezing and thawing, and irradiation. The inhibitor(s) was most stable at pH around 5.0 and least stable at alkaline pH. The PPO inhibition profile of housefly during metamorphosis also was evaluated.     

Ensuring primary realization of pressure unit in the vacuum range without typically utilized static expansion system

After the break-up of Czechoslovakia in 1993 the primary metrological standards authority almost fully remained in Slovakia. So we had to build our primary vacuum metrology anew. But we could do it using uptodate techniques that are more effective and they enable us to fulfil our task more effectively and in a shorter time.The steady demand to widen the lower pressure range and a steady demand for maximal accuracy collide with the financial possibilities open to a small country. So it is impossible to follow the classical pattern for the vacuum standards: liquid columns, static expansion system and dynamic expansion system. But it is possible to utilize contemporary progress in construction of piston manometers. This enables us to discard liquid column and static expansion techniques in favour of piston technique [Tesar J, Prazak D. Vacuum 2002; 67: 311, Tesar J, Prazak D, Krajicek Z. In:Proceedings of international symposium on Pressure and Vacuum, 2003. p. 169, Tesar J, Repa P, Prazak D, Krajicek Z, Peksa L. Vacuum 2004; 76: 491.]. Such system fulfils all the needs of a little industrial country and is economically acceptable.     

Structure modification of rapidly solidified Al-11 wt% Si alloy by the addition of 2 wt% Fe

An investigation of the structure formation of as-cast Al-11 wt% Si (AlSi11) and Al-11 wt% Si-2 wt% Fe (AlSi11Fe2) rapidly solidified (RS) ribbons is performed. Ribbon samples are examined in detail using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A nanoscale thickness layer of Si-precipitations, at both Al-grains boundary and oxide/Al-matrix interface, is found to be characteristic for “pure” AlSi11 ribbons. For Fe-doped ribbons, this layer comprises Fe-containing phase also, which appears to possess amorphous nature and is situated between the Si-grains and Al-matrix. A possible mechanism of altering the thermally activated volume diffusion of elements, due to the effect of Fe on the structure modification, is speculated based on the obtained results.     

Effect of C/Ti ratio on the laser ignited self-propagating high-temperature synthesis reaction of Al-Ti-C system for fabricating TiC/Al composites

TiC/Al composite was successfully synthesized utilizing laser ignited self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) of Al-C-Ti system with the different C/Ti molar ratio. When the molar ratio of C to Ti is below 1:1 in the starting materials, in addition to fine TiC particulates, a large amount of Al₃Ti phase was found in the composites; however, when the molar ratio of C to Ti is 1:1 in the starting materials, the Al₃Ti phase was almost completely eliminated and the distribution of TiC particulates generally appeared to be more homogeneous throughout the products synthesized.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of hexagonal ZnO clusters

Hydrothermal process was applied to synthesize zinc oxide nanocrystals. X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the crystal structure and surface morphology. XRD pattern analysis showed that the ZnO clusters are single hexagonal phase of wurtzite structure (space group P63 mc) with no impurity of Zn and Zn(OH)₂. Also, SEM images revealed that the size of a single ZnO crystal is between 200-500 nm in diameter and 2-5 μm in length. The influence of potassium iodide (KI) as a surfactant on the crystallinity of ZnO has been investigated.     

KATRIN NEG pumping concept investigation

The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino experiment (KATRIN) is going to use a very large electro-static tandem spectrometer to measure the electron spectrum from the tritium beta decay, where several kilometers of non-evaporable getter (NEG) strips (type ST707) are to be used to achieve the UHV requirements. Different geometrical configurations of the NEG strips have been studied by Monte Carlo simulations. It is shown that the resulting pumping speed of the getter pumps will allow to get a pressure below 10⁻¹¹ mbar in the huge vessel with a volume of 1400 m³. By systematic assessment of the statistics of the pumping surfaces, it could be demonstrated that the design is sound.     

Secondary ion emission from Ti and Si targets induced by medium energy Ar ion bombardment - Experiment and computer simulation

The paper presents experimental results of secondary ion energy distributions obtained for Ti and Si targets bombarded by 20-30 keV monoisotope Ar⁺ ion beam. The influence of the extraction voltages between target and a slit of the electrostatic energy analyzer entrance on the energy distributions of secondary ions was investigated. After optimization of the secondary ion extraction system, the mass spectra of secondary ions were also measured. The investigations were done using recently built experimental system. Experimental data are compared with the computer simulation results obtained using TRQR and SATVAL codes.     

Detailed Measurements of Nuclear Spin Polarizations in a Single InAlAs Quantum Dot Through Overhauser Shift of Photoluminescence

We investigated optical pumping of nuclear spin polarizations in a single self-assembled In_0.75Al_0.25As/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As quantum dot. The nuclear spin polarization exhibits the abrupt jump and hysteresis in the excitation power dependence at a particular excitation polarization. Measurement of circular polarization rate of the photoluminescence reveals that the abrupt change of the nuclear spin polarization is created mainly by the spin flip-flop process between nuclei and an electron of a positive charged exciton in this single quantum dot. Model calculation explains well the experimentally observed bistable behavior in InAlAs quantum dot. By using this abrupt change, the sign and magnitude of electron and hole g-factors in z-direction are verified.