Volatile organo-halogen trace analysis in beverages by thin-layer headspace enrichment and electron-capture gas-chromatography

Applicability of thin-layer headspace (TLHS) procedure giving an aqueous concentrate and also classical purge and trap (PT) in off-line mode to isolate and enrich volatile organohalogen compounds in common beverages was tested. Both enrichment tech-niques were used in combination with gas chromatography – electron capture detection (GC-ECD). TLHS, combined with direct aqueous injection (DAI)-GC-ECD, proved applicable in the determination of volatile organohalogen compounds in all studied beverages, while the PT in a version with no preliminary sample pre-treatment was of limited applicability. Detection limits of the TLHS-based procedure were in the order of 1 ppt. Content of volatile organohalogen compounds in a number of beverages available on the Polish market including mineral waters, beers, juices, carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, etc. was determined by means of TLHS-DAI-GC-ECD.     

The Character of Melting for Simple Molecules Deposited on Graphite

The microscopic character of melting for quasi–two dimensional N ₂ adlayers on graphite is examined for surface densities 0.2 1, where the upper limit corresponds to a complete monolayer. A Monte Carlo method, with the multiple histogram procedure, is employed to determine various thermodynamic quantities. Using the calculated specific heats and selected order parameters, determined at various surface densities, the mechanism for melting is shown to be vacancy mediated. The somewhat unusual behavior of the melting temperature versus density is shown to be entirely due to the vacancy concentration and their topology. Because this is determined by the free energy, our analysis should be general. Preliminary results for Xe on graphite supports this claim.     

ArcFVS: An integration of a Geographic Information System and Forest Vegetation Simulator

This paper presents the design and implementation of an integrated application program called ArcFVS that links the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) and a Geographic Information System (GIS) to realize spatial selection of input files and graphic display of modeling output. Data for testing and running the model came from the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Database and were also collected in field surveys in north-central Indiana. ArcFVS 1.0 is designed using the ArcGIS software from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming environment to manipulate ESRI’s ArcObjects. The resulting product offers custom functions as commands in a new menu or as tools on a new toolbar. They are used to: select spatially or by attribute the forest plots to be projected by FVS, create the FVS input files for the selected plots and display in a geospatial environment different types of FVS output (text output files, tables with variables of interest and visualization image files). Advantages of ArcFVS 1.0 include the new GIS capabilities, enhanced format translation functions and the standardized programming environment.     

Facile Microwave Assisted Synthesis of Silver Nanostars for Ultrasensitive Detection of Biological Analytes by SERS

We report a very simple, rapid and reproducible method for the fabrication of anisotropic silver nanostars (AgNS) that can be successfully used as highly efficient SERS substrates for different bioanalytes, even in the case of a near-infra-red (NIR) excitation laser. The nanostars have been synthesized using the chemical reduction of Ag⁺ ions by trisodium citrate. This is the first research reporting the synthesis of AgNS using only trisodium citrate as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The key elements of this original synthesis procedure are rapid hydrothermal synthesis of silver nanostars followed by a cooling down procedure by immersion in a water bath. The synthesis was performed in a sealed bottom flask homogenously heated and brought to a boil in a microwave oven. After 60 s, the colloidal solution was cooled down to room temperature by immersion in a water bath at 35 °C. The as-synthesized AgNS were washed by centrifugation and used for SERS analysis of test molecules (methylene blue) as well as biological analytes: pharmaceutical compounds with various Raman cross sections (doxorubicin, atenolol & metoprolol), cell lysates and amino acids (methionine & cysteine). UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy ((S)TEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) have been employed for investigating nanostars’ physical properties.     

Comparative Antimicrobial Activity of Silver Nanoparticles Obtained by Wet Chemical Reduction and Solvothermal Methods

The synthesis of nanoparticles from noble metals has received high attention from researchers due to their unique properties and their wide range of applications. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), in particular, show a remarkable inhibitory effect against microorganisms and viruses. Various methods have been developed to obtain AgNPs, however the stability of such nanostructures over time is still challenging. Researchers attempt to obtain particular shapes and sizes in order to tailor AgNPs properties for specific areas, such as biochemistry, biology, agriculture, electronics, medicine, and industry. The aim of this study was to design AgNPs with improved antimicrobial characteristics and stability. Two different wet chemical routes were considered: synthesis being performed (i) reduction method at room temperatures and (ii) solvothermal method at high temperature. Here, we show that the antimicrobial properties of the obtained AgNPs, are influenced by their synthesis route, which impact on the size and shape of the structures. This work analyses and compares the antimicrobial properties of the obtained AgNPs, based on their structure, sizes and morphologies which are influenced, in turn, not only by the type or quantities of precursors used but also by the temperature of the reaction. Generally, AgNPs obtained by solvothermal, at raised temperature, registered better antimicrobial activity as compared to NPs obtained by reduction method at room temperature.     

Texture-independent recognition of facial expressions in image snapshots and videos

This paper addresses the static and dynamic recognition of basic facial expressions. It has two main contributions. First, we introduce a view- and texture-independent scheme that exploits facial action parameters estimated by an appearance-based 3D face tracker. We represent the learned facial actions associated with different facial expressions by time series. Second, we compare this dynamic scheme with a static one based on analyzing individual snapshots and show that the former performs better than the latter. We provide evaluations of performance using three subspace learning techniques: linear discriminant analysis, non-parametric discriminant analysis and support vector machines.     

New Linkage with Linear Actuator for Tracking PV Systems with Large Angular Stroke

This paper focuses on the development of an optimized photovoltaic tracking system involving low-cost, relative simple mechanisms, with linear actuators able to insure strokes comparable with those resulted when using gear rotary actuators. Starting with a rhombus linkage, with a linear actuator on the diagonal used for the elevation motion till 90°, a new performance solution is generated. This new linkage allows large angular strokes by using an asymmetric rhombus and an eccentrically positioned linear ac...     

Solving a weak NP-complete problem in polynomial time by using mutual mobile membrane systems

Mutual mobile membrane systems represent a variant of mobile membrane systems in which endocytosis and exocytosis work whenever the involved membranes ??agree?? on the movement by using mutual complement objects placed in membranes. We provide a semi-uniform polynomial solution for a weak NP-complete problem (namely partition problem) by means of mutual mobile membrane systems.     

Non-starch polysaccharides of canola meal: Quantification,digestibility in poultry and potential benefit of dietary enzyme supplementation

The non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) content as determined by gas chromatography (component neutral sugars) and colorimetry (uronic acids) was shown to be 16–22% in ten different samples of defatted canola (low glucosinolate rapeseed) seed. The non-cellulosic components of NSP accounted for 13–16% of the meal and on average consisted of arabinose (33%), xylose (13%), galactose (13%), glucose (5%), mannose (3%), rhamnose (2%), fucose (2%) and uronic acids (30%). Yellow-seeded and brown-seeded samples of canola contained similar contents of total dietary fibre although the composition of the fibre components tended to differ with the former showing a low content of lignin and associated polyphenols and a high content of NSP as compared with the latter type. NDF values tended to be lower for yellow-seeded than for brown-seeded canola due to the relatively high content of NSP in neutral detergent solubles of yellow-seeded canola. An initial balance study with laying hens showed low (<3%) digestibility of the polysaccharide components, and further studies were conducted with a commercial enzyme preparation (SP249, Novo Laboratories Ltd, Lachine, Quebec) to enhance the in-vivo hydrolysis of the NSP fraction of the meal. Laying hens were fed a semipurified diet containing 40% commercial canola meal with and without enzyme (1%). NSP digestibility was increased to 37% by the enzyme supplementation.