Photoluminescence decay rate of silicon nanoparticles modified with gold nanoislands

We investigated plasmon-assisted enhancement of emission from silicon nanoparticles (ncs-Si) embedded into porous SiO _x matrix in the 500- to 820-nm wavelength range. In the presence in the near-surface region of gold nanoisland film, ncs-Si exhibited up to twofold luminescence enhancement at emission frequencies that correspond to the plasmon resonance frequency of Au nanoparticles. Enhancement of the photoluminescence (PL) intensity was attributed to coupling with the localized surface plasmons (LSPs) excited in Au nanoparticles and to increase in the radiative decay rate of ncs-Si. It has been shown that spontaneous emission decay rate of ncs-Si modified by thin Au film over the wide emission spectral range was accelerated. The emission decay rate distribution was determined by fitting the experimental decay curves to the stretched exponential model. The observed increase of the PL decay rate distribution width for the Au-coated nc-Si-SiO _x sample in comparison with the uncoated one was explained by fluctuations in the surface-plasmon excitation rate.

PACS

78. 67. Bf; 78.55.-m     

Creativity and Innovation in Haute Cuisine: Towards a Systemic Model

The contribution of this study is an increased understanding of personal creativity and the innovation process in haute cuisine, a validation of the socio‐cultural systems view of creativity and a model that accounts for the socio‐cultural dimensions of haute cuisine. In this paper we discuss existing views that conceptualize creativity and innovation in this sector as a sequential developmental process following the principles of operations management. However, based on in‐depth interviews with world‐renowned chefs, we argue for a systemic rather than sequential developmental process view. The reason for this is that the chefs interviewed understand the ‘creativity part’ of the innovation process as an embodied experience often guided by intuition and the ‘innovation part’ as a process of social evaluation greatly dependent on the perception, knowledge and value judgement of the testers from the leading restaurant guides. The main implications of the findings go beyond the haute cuisine sector and open areas for future research on creativity and intuition more generally.     

Influence of inhomogeneous static magnetic field-exposure on patients with erosive gastritis: a randomized,self- and placebo-controlled,double-blind,single centre,pilot study

This pilot study was devoted to the effect of static magnetic field (SMF)-exposure on erosive gastritis. The randomized, self- and placebo-controlled, double-blind, pilot study included 16 patients of the 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University diagnosed with erosive gastritis. The instrumental analysis followed a qualitative (pre-intervention) assessment of the symptoms by the patient: lower heartburn (in the ventricle), upper heartburn (in the oesophagus), epigastric pain, regurgitation, bloating and dry cough. Medical diagnosis included a double-line upper panendoscopy followed by 30 min local inhomogeneous SMF-exposure intervention at the lower sternal region over the stomach with peak-to-peak magnetic induction of 3 mT and 30 mT m⁻¹ gradient at the target site. A qualitative (post-intervention) assessment of the same symptoms closed the examination. Sham- or SMF-exposure was used in a double-blind manner. The authors succeeded in justifying the clinically and statistically significant beneficial effect of the SMF- over sham-exposure on the symptoms of erosive gastritis, the average effect of inhibition was 56% by p = 0.001, n = 42 + 96. This pilot study was aimed to encourage gastroenterologists to test local, inhomogeneous SMF-exposure on erosive gastritis patients, so this intervention may become an evidence-based alternative or complementary method in the clinical use especially in cases when conventional therapy options are contraindicated.     

Transferrin-Decorated Niosomes with Integrated InP/ZnS Quantum Dots and Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Dual Targeting and Imaging of Glioma

The development of multifunctional nanoscale systems that can mediate efficient tumor targeting, together with high cellular internalization, is crucial for the diagnosis of glioma. The combination of imaging agents into one platform provides dual imaging and allows further surface modification with targeting ligands for specific glioma detection. Herein, transferrin (Tf)-decorated niosomes with integrated magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONs) and quantum dots (QDs) were formulated (PEGNIO/QDs/MIONs/Tf) for efficient imaging of glioma, supported by magnetic and active targeting. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the complete co-encapsulation of MIONs and QDs in the niosomes. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated enhanced cellular uptake of the niosomal formulation by glioma cells. In vitro imaging studies showed that PEGNIO/QDs/MIONs/Tf produces an obvious negative-contrast enhancement effect on glioma cells by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and also improved fluorescence intensity under fluorescence microscopy. This novel platform represents the first niosome-based system which combines magnetic nanoparticles and QDs, and has application potential in dual-targeted imaging of glioma.     

Influence of addition of nanosize barium cerate on the microstructure and properties of top-seeded melt growth YBCO bulk superconductors

Barium cerate (BaCeO₃) is one of the possible additions to bulk YBa₂Cu₃O₇ single-grain superconductors to suppress the growth of Y₂BaCuO₅ (Y211) particles. This paper investigates the synthesis of barium cerate powder and its use in YBa₂Cu₃O₇ bulk superconductors. Crystalline barium cerate was synthesized by solid-state reaction, by co-precipitation of oxalates and by sol-gel method. Final calcination was held in air or in vacuum. It is shown that the most efficient in refining Y211 is nanocrystalline barium cerate prepared by sol-gel method calcined in vacuum. The effective refinement of Y211 particles occurred over the entire interval of nanocrystalline BaCeO₃ addition from 0.38 to 1.90 wt%. The optimal concentration of nanosize barium cerate was determined, microstructure and superconducting properties were characterized. The effect of Y211 content on trapped field in YBCO bulks with addition of nanocrystalline barium cerate is shown.     

Integration of algae-based biofuel production with an oil refinery: Energy and carbon footprint assessment

Biofuel production from algae feedstock has become a topic of interest in the recent decades since algae biomass cultivation is feasible in aquaculture and does therefore not compete with use of arable land. In the present work, hydrothermal liquefaction of both microalgae and macroalgae is evaluated for biofuel production and compared with transesterifying lipids extracted from microalgae as a benchmark process. The focus of the evaluation is on both the energy and carbon footprint performance of the processes. In addition, integration of the processes with an oil refinery has been assessed with regard to heat and material integration. It is shown that there are several potential benefits of co-locating an algae-based biorefinery at an oil refinery site and that the use of macroalgae as feedstock is more beneficial than the use of microalgae from a system energy performance perspective. Macroalgae-based hydrothermal liquefaction achieves the highest system energy efficiency of 38.6%, but has the lowest yield of liquid fuel (22.5 MJ per 100 MJ_algae) with a substantial amount of solid biochar produced (28.0 MJ per 100 MJ_algae). Microalgae-based hydrothermal liquefaction achieves the highest liquid biofuel yield (54.1 MJ per 100 MJ_algae), achieving a system efficiency of 30.6%. Macro-algae-based hydrothermal liquefaction achieves the highest CO₂ reduction potential, leading to savings of 24.5 resp 92 kt CO_2eq/year for the two future energy market scenarios considered, assuming a constant feedstock supply rate of 100 MW algae, generating 184.5, 177.1 and 229.6 GWh_biochar/year, respectively. Heat integration with the oil refinery is only possible to a limited extent for the hydrothermal liquefaction process routes, whereas the lipid extraction process can benefit to a larger extent from heat integration due to the lower temperature level of the process heat demand.