Potential of ionic liquids for VOC absorption and biodegradation in multiphase systems

This work aims to evaluate the feasibility of using imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) in the design of multiphase bioreactors for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The IL affinity for three model VOCs (dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide and toluene) was evaluated by means of the dimensionless partition coefficient (K). It was observed that ILs showed K values comparable to typical liquid solvents used in multiphase bioreactors for VOC biodegradation (K values ranged from 0.009 to 0.011, 0.0012 to 0.0013 and 0.00061 to 0.00096 for dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide and toluene, respectively). Toxicity tests showed that both ILs at concentrations of 5% and 10% (v/v) inhibited the glucose uptake of an activated sludge during approximately 24 h. After such lag period, the microorganisms were able to recover its metabolic activity. However, VOC biodegradation experiments showed that ILs at 5% (v/v) were toxic for the activated sludge and a toxic synergistic effect of the IL–VOC combination likely occurred. After acclimation to the target VOCs, only the toluene biodegradation capacity was significantly increased in the presence of ILs. These toxic effects represent a key drawback for the potential of IL-based multiphase systems devoted to VOC biodegradation. Therefore, this study suggests that microbial acclimation only to the VOCs is not enough to get an efficient biodegradation in multiphase systems including ILs as non-aqueous phases.     

Feedback consistency effects in visual and auditory word recognition: Where do we stand after more than a decade?

The role of phonology-to-spelling consistency (i.e., feedback consistency) was investigated in 3 lexical decision experiments in both the visual and auditory modalities in French and English. No evidence for a feedback consistency effect was found in the visual modality, either in English or in French, despite the fact that consistency was manipulated for different kinds of units (onsets and rimes). In contrast, robust feedback consistency effects were obtained in the auditory lexical decision task in both English and French when exactly the same items that produced a null effect in the visual modality were used. Neural network simulations are presented to show that previous demonstrations of feedback consistency effects in the visual modality can be simulated with a model that is not sensitive to feedback consistency, suggesting that these effects might have come from various confounds. These simulations, together with the authors' results, suggest that there are no feedback consistency effects in the visual modality. In contrast, such effects are clearly present in the auditory modality. Given that orthographic information is absent from current models of spoken word recognition, the present findings present a major challenge to these models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of glycemic index of spelt and wheat bread in human volunteers

The assessment of the glycemic index (GI) seems to be an important parameter to take into account in order to better understand the physiologic effects of foods with high carbohydrate levels. Among cereals, which are major sources of carbohydrates, spelt (Triticum spelta L.) has been considered as particularly interesting from a nutritional point of view. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vivo the GI of white spelt bread in healthy subjects. The wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) white bread was used as reference food. To avoid differences in the production of both breads, spelt and wheat breads were baked under the same controlled conditions. Results showed that the glycemic profile of spelt white bread was not different from that of wheat white bread (GI of 93 ± 9). The area under the glycemic curve significantly and negatively correlated to fasting glycemia and carbohydrate intake during evening meals preceding the test. In conclusion, the glycemic response to spelt bread was similar to that of wheat bread. However, in order to avoid more inter-individual variability, our data supports the importance to propose standardised carbohydrate content for the last meal before evaluating the GI of food.     

Effect of gate length in InAs/AlSb HEMTs biased for low power or high gain

The effect of gate-length variation on DC and RF performance of InAs/AlSb HEMTs, biased for low DC power consumption or high gain, is reported. Simultaneously fabricated devices, with gate lengths between 225 nm and 335 nm, have been compared. DC measurements revealed higher output conductance g_ds and slightly increased impact ionization with reduced gate length. When reducing the gate length from 335 nm to 225 nm, the DC power consumption was reduced by approximately 80% at an f_T of 120 GHz. Furthermore, a 225 nm gate-length HEMT biased for high gain exhibited an extrinsic f_T of 165 GHz and an extrinsic f_max of 115 GHz, at a DC power consumption of 100 mW/mm. When biased for low DC power consumption of 20 mW/mm the same HEMT exhibited an extrinsic f_T and f_max of 120 GHz and 110 GHz, respectively.     

Toward the first nonpeptidic molecular tong inhibitor of wild-type and mutated HIV-1 protease dimerization

Herein we describe the synthesis and HIV-1 protease (PR) inhibitory activity of 16 new peptidomimetic molecular tongs with a naphthalene scaffold. Their peptidic character was progressively decreased. Two of these molecules exhibited the best dimerization inhibition activity toward HIV-1 wild-type and multimutated ANAM-11 proteases obtained to date for this class of molecules (～40?nM for wild-type PR and 100?nM for ANAM-11 PR). Although the peptidic character of one molecular tong was completely suppressed, the mechanism of inhibition and inhibitory potency toward both proteases were maintained.     

Easy mass spectrometry for metabolomics and quality control of vegetable and animal fats

Easy ambient sonic spray ionization (EASI), a novel desorption/ionization technique for ambient mass spectrometry analysis, is shown to permit the characterization of different types of vegetable and animal fats. The taxonomic markers of the oils, mainly fatty acids and phenols, are extracted with methanol/water (1:1) solution and made alkaline with NH₄OH, then placed and dried on the surface of a glass tip and directly analyzed by EASI‐MS in the negative‐ion mode. EASI provides a supersonic cloud of charged droplets that causes efficient desorption and ionization of the oil markers directly from the surface of the glass tip. As proof‐of‐principle cases, EASI(?)‐MS was applied to genuine samples of olive oil, hazelnut oil, soybean oil, grape seed oil, canola oil, butter, and lard. Characteristic metabolomics EASI(?)‐MS profiles of fatty acids and eventually phenols were obtained.     

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry fingerprinting of essential oils: Spices from the Labiatae family

Polar components of the methanolic extracts of the essential oils of the spices Origanum dictamnus, Origanum vulgare, Origanum majorana and Rosmarinus officinalis, all four belonging to the Labiatae family, were investigated by direct infusion electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) both in the negative and positive ion modes. Characteristic ESI mass spectra with many diagnostic ions were obtained for the extracts of all four spices, serving for fast and reliable identification of these species. Tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS), which often forms a series of fragment ions, and this additional MS dimension increases selectivity for authenticity and adulteration tests for spice essential oils. The MS technique also provides complementary information of component structures revealing the presence of important bioactive components.     

Rayleigh-like instability in the ion-shaping of Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles embedded within a silica matrix

We have studied how spherical 23 ± 3 nm Au(45)Ag(55) nanoparticles embedded within a silica matrix transform into prolate nanorods and nanowires by irradiating them with swift heavy ions. Samples were irradiated at room temperature and normal incidence with 74 MeV Kr and 36 MeV S ions for fluences up to 1.0 × 10(15) cm(-2). We demonstrate the existence of two regimes: (i) below a critical fluence, ～ 2.0 × 10(14) cm(-2), the transformation of the spherical nanoparticle into a nanorod is an individual process, i.e. each nanoparticle transforms into a single nanorod; (ii) for larger fluences the transformation from nanorod to nanowire becomes a collective process, i.e. the break up and dissolution of unstable nanorods contribute to the growth of long nanowires. The passage from the first to the second regime can be interpreted in terms of a Rayleigh-like instability under irradiation. The latter becomes active when the diameter of the nanowire approaches its saturation width under irradiation. Furthermore, we show that the composition of the alloy is only slightly modified during the ion-shaping process. Finally, the energy and the fluence thresholds for deformation and the deformation strain-rate are estimated.