Influence of Cu<Superscript>2+</Superscript> ions on structural and magnetic properties of NiZn ferrites

The paper is devoted to the preparation of NiZn ferrite with small substitutions of copper by means of ceramic technology. The influence of small Cu substitution on the microstructural and magnetic properties of NiZn ferrites have been analysed by means of various experimental methods and interpreted from the point of view of preparation technology optimisation and possible applications of such materials. A strong correlation between the substituent content and resulting properties has been observed, thus allowing preparation of material with the properties tailored for any particular application.     

Theorem for the local volume average of a gradient revised

The theorem for the local volume average of a gradient formulated by Slattery[1] is analyzed from the mathematical point of view. It is shown that the     

t-Norm based cuts of intuitionistic fuzzy sets

We consider the system of intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IF-sets) in a universe X and study the cuts of an IF-set. Suppose a left continuous triangular norm is given. The t-norm based cut (level set) of an IF-set is defined in a way that binds the membership and nonmembership functions via the triangular norm. This is an extension of usual cuts of IF-sets. We show that the system of these cuts fulfils analogical properties as usual systems of cuts. However, it is not possible to reconstruct an IF-set from the system of t-norm based cuts.     

Unexpected products of the allyldiethylamine hydroformylation homogeneously catalyzed by rhodium complexes

Attempts to carry out the hydroformylation of allyldiethylamine homogeneously catalyzed by rhodium complexes led to unexpected formation of N,N,N,N-tetraethyl-1,4-diaminobutane and 4-(diethylamino)-1-butanole as final products. The role of the catalyst on the product formation and the reaction mechanism are briefly discussed.     

Extraction of Bitter Acids from Hops and Hop Products Using Pressurized Solvent Extraction (PSE)

The EBC method 7.7, currently used for determination of bitter acids in hop products, is a time‐consuming and laborious extraction technique. In this paper, our aim was to propose a new extraction method based on Pressurized Solvent Extraction (PSE) sometimes also called Pressurized Fluid Extraction (PFE) or Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE). Compared to conventional extractions, PSE offers a number of important benefits. PSE on OnePSE^® automated extractor was used for extraction of α‐ and β‐acids from hops and hop products and the parameters influencing extraction efficiency and the influence of the sample preparation method were studied. The quantitative determination of α‐ and β‐acids in the extracts was accomplished by using an HPLC apparatus equipped with diode array detector. The experimental results were compared with those obtained by the standard EBC 7.7 method and the two methods were found to be fully compatible     

Using Faster Gas Chromatography Analyses in Brewing Analytics

Dominant trends in analytical chemistry include miniaturization in sample preparation techniques and faster run times to provide high‐throughput screening, fast process monitoring and fast method development. This study focused on the application of narrow bore gas chromatographic capillary columns, 0.18 mm internal diameter, for brewing analyses. On these capillary columns, faster analyses could be performed compared to conventional GC capillary columns using 0.32 to 0.53 mm internal diameters. The robustness of the state‐of‐the‐art faster capillary gas chromatography, without compromising resolution, has been demonstrated with the analyses of beer flavour compounds such as lower and higher alcohols, esters and other volatile compounds such as acetaldehyde and dimethyl sulphide in beer. These methods were able to reduce sample run times by 60%.     

Structural Study of the Partially Disordered Full‐Length δ Subunit of RNA Polymerase from Bacillus subtilis

The partially disordered δ subunit of RNA polymerase was studied by various NMR techniques. The structure of the well‐folded N‐terminal domain was determined based on inter‐proton distances in NOESY spectra. The obtained structural model was compared to the previously determined structure of a truncated construct (lacking the C‐terminal domain). Only marginal differences were identified, thus indicating that the first structural model was not significantly compromised by the absence of the C‐terminal domain. Various ¹⁵N relaxation experiments were employed to describe the flexibility of both domains. The relaxation data revealed that the C‐terminal domain is more flexible, but its flexibility is not uniform. By using paramagnetic labels, transient contacts of the C‐terminal tail with the N‐terminal domain and with itself were identified. A propensity of the C‐terminal domain to form β‐type structures was obtained by chemical shift analysis. Comparison with the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement indicated a well‐balanced interplay of repulsive and attractive electrostatic interactions governing the conformational behavior of the C‐terminal domain. The results showed that the δ subunit consists of a well‐ordered N‐terminal domain and a flexible C‐terminal domain that exhibits a complex hierarchy of partial ordering.     

Multi-component adsorption of Ag(I), Cd(II) and Cu(II) by natural carbonaceous materials

Adsorption of silver, cadmium and copper from aqueous solutions by natural carbonaceous materials was investigated. The studied series of natural materials (spruce wood, pine bark, cork, peat, fusinite, lignite, oxidised lignite, bituminous coal and anthracite) was extended to include industrial carbon-rich materials: coke, activated carbon F-400 and Multisorb 100. Adsorption was tested on a single-component system and on the binary and ternary mixtures. All the materials used differ in their ability to adsorb selected metals. The adsorption of metals is significantly affected by the presence of other ions in solution. Total metal uptake was considerably higher in a mixture than single-ion adsorption. Chemical reactions, such as precipitation and reduction of metallic silver, play a role in metal uptake by bituminous coal, coke and activated carbon.     

Structure-based design of inhibitors of NS3 serine protease of hepatitis C virus

We have designed small focused combinatorial library of hexapeptide inhibitors of NS3 serine protease of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by structure-based molecular design complemented by combinatorial optimisation of the individual residues. Rational residue substitutions were guided by the structure and properties of the binding pockets of the enzyme's active site. The inhibitors were derived from peptides known to inhibit the NS3 serine protease by using unusual amino acids and alpha-ketocysteine or difluoroaminobutyric acid, which are known to bind to the S1 pocket of the catalytic site. Inhibition constants (Ki) of the designed library of inhibitors were predicted from a QSAR model that correlated experimental Ki of known peptidic inhibitors of NS3 with the enthalpies of enzyme-inhibitor interaction computed via molecular mechanics and the solvent effect contribution to the binding affinity derived from the continuum model of solvation. The library of the optimised inhibitors contains promising drug candidates-water-soluble anionic hexapeptides with predicted Ki* in the picomolar range.