Luminescent Amphiphilic Aminoglycoside Probes to Study Transfection

We report the characterization of amphiphilic aminoglycoside conjugates containing luminophores with aggregation-induced emission properties as transfection reagents. These inherently luminescent transfection vectors are capable of binding plasmid DNA through electrostatic interactions; this binding results in an emission “on” signal due to restriction of intramolecular motion of the luminophore core. The luminescent cationic amphiphiles effectively transferred plasmid DNA into mammalian cells (HeLa, HEK 293T), as proven by expression of a red fluorescent protein marker. The morphologies of the aggregates were investigated by microscopy as well as ζ-potential and dynamic light-scattering measurements. The transfection efficiencies using luminescent cationic amphiphiles were similar to that of the gold-standard transfection reagent Lipofectamine® 2000.     

Optimization of thermodynamic properties of the K2O-SiO2 system at high temperatures

An optimized set of thermodynamic functions for the K₂O-SiO₂ system at 10⁵ Pa pressure was obtained by considering available phase diagram and thermodynamic data. KSi_0.25O and SiO₂ were selected as components for the liquid phase. With respect to these components, the highly non-ideal interactions of potassium oxide and silica could be described by using only three temperature-independent Redlich-Kister coefficients for the excess G of the liquid phase. The result is in good agreement with experimental data.     

Exergy Identification Of Energy Utilization Efficiency In an Industrial Process of Ozone Generation

The main objective of the paper is to establish an arrangement of sources of exergy losses (internal and external ones) and to estimate the value of the losses in an industrial ozone production installation. An exergetic model of industrial installation in a system approach corresponding to real conditions has been formulated.     

Biosynthesis and identification of volatiles released by the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca

The volatiles released by agar plate cultures of two strains of the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca (strains Sg a15 and DW4/3-1) were collected in a closed-loop stripping apparatus (CLSA) and analyzed by GC-MS. Large numbers of substances from different compound classes (ketones, esters, lactones, terpenes, and sulfur and nitrogen compounds) were identified; several of them are reported from natural sources for the first time. The volatiles 2-methyltridecan-4-one (17), its isomer 3-methyltridecan-4-one (20), and the higher homologue 2-methyltetradecan-4-one (18) were identified in the extracts of both strains and were synthesized. In addition, strain Sg a15 produced 2,12-dimethyltridecan-4-one (19), 2-methyltridec-2-en-4-one (23), and a series of phenyl ketones, among them 1-phenyldecan-1-one (14) and 9-methyl-1-phenyldecan-1-one (16), whereas strain DW4/3-1 emitted traces of 10-methylundecan-2-one (21). The biosynthesis of 14 and 16 was examined in feeding experiments with deuterated precursors carried out on agar plate cultures. The leucine-derived starter unit isovalerate was shown to be incorporated into 16, as was phenylalanine-derived benzoic acid into both 14 and 16. The results point to formation both of the phenyl ketones and of the structurally related aliphatic ketones through an unusual head-to-head coupling between a starter unit such as benzoyl-CoA and a fatty acyl-CoA, followed by decarboxylation.     

Fabrication and characterization of machined 3D diffractive optical elements

The production of three dimensional blazed grating structures based on ultra-precision machining is an up-to-date issue. Hence, in the development of manufacturing technologies technology-related failure modes are generated due to structural variations. These failure errors must be recorded in cause and effect and then characterized by their type in order to achieve the optimum quality. This paper addresses the influence of processing parameters on the shape-persistence and hence on the grating quality and explains the possibility of detection and classification of them.     

Evaluation and characterization of ammoniumpolyphosphate–pentaerythritol‐based systems for intumescent coatings

Intumescent coatings are increasingly used as a method of passive fire protection on steel constructions. By forming a carbon network and releasing a blowing agent, the thin intumescent film swells 100‐fold at elevated temperatures. The highly insulating foam effectively prevents the load bearing steel from reaching its critical temperature at which it looses its mechanical properties and collapses. The role of the carbon donor in intumescent coatings has been studied. Comparison in temperature development, foaming ratios, and rheological behavior has been performed between formulations containing pentaerythritol (penta), di–penta, and tri–penta. A simulated fire test, in which the temperature development during intumescence was studied, showed that the formulations containing penta were considerably more efficient in keeping a low temperature throughout the process. A more rapid temperature development was displayed when using di–penta and tri–penta as the carbon donor. Rheometer tests indicate that penta formulations enter the intumescent process at a lower temperature and stays in it for a longer time than di–penta and tri–penta formulations. Furthermore, the crossover temperature and maximum phase angle are shifted towards higher temperatures by replacing penta with di–penta and with tri–penta in the formulations, respectively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 748–753, 2007     

A Quantitative Analysis of Current Practices in Optical Flow Estimation and the Principles Behind Them

The accuracy of optical flow estimation algorithms has been improving steadily as evidenced by results on the Middlebury optical flow benchmark. The typical formulation, however, has changed little since the work of Horn and Schunck. We attempt to uncover what has made recent advances possible through a thorough analysis of how the objective function, the optimization method, and modern implementation practices influence accuracy. We discover that “classical” flow formulations perform surprisingly well when combined with modern optimization and implementation techniques. One key implementation detail is the median filtering of intermediate flow fields during optimization. While this improves the robustness of classical methods it actually leads to higher energy solutions, meaning that these methods are not optimizing the original objective function. To understand the principles behind this phenomenon, we derive a new objective function that formalizes the median filtering heuristic. This objective function includes a non-local smoothness term that robustly integrates flow estimates over large spatial neighborhoods. By modifying this new term to include information about flow and image boundaries we develop a method that can better preserve motion details. To take advantage of the trend towards video in wide-screen format, we further introduce an asymmetric pyramid downsampling scheme that enables the estimation of longer range horizontal motions. The methods are evaluated on the Middlebury, MPI Sintel, and KITTI datasets using the same parameter settings.     

Single-Site Calcium Initiators for the Controlled Ring-Opening Polymerization of Lactides and Lactones

Summary Single-site calcium initiators containing chelating tmhd (H-tmhd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylheptane-33-dione) ligands [(THF)Ca(tmhd)_]2[-N(SiMe₃)₂](-tmhd) (2) and [(THF)Ca(tmhd)]₂[-OCH(Me)Ph](-tmhd) (3) have been synthesized and applied for the ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide and -caprolactone. Both 2 and 3 were highly reactive and promoted a fast polymerization of L-lactide and -caprolactone to high monomer conversions under mild conditions (THF as a solvent, room temperature). More importantly, results showed that the ring-opening polymerizations of lactides and lactones initiated by either 3 or 2 in the presence of equivalent 2-propanol are living, to provide polymers and block copolymers of controlled molecular weights and tailored end-groups. The polymerizations were first-order in monomer up to high conversions, in which the in situ initiating system 2/2-propanol revealed no induction period and much faster polymerization kinetics as compared to 3.     

The future of vehicle propulsion – combustion engines and alternatives

Topics in Catalysis - Increasing shortage on energy resources as well as future emission legislation development increase the pressure to develop more efficient, environmentally friendly propulsion...     

Characterization of Precursor-Derived Silicon-Carbon-Nitrogen Ceramics after Creep Testing

Precursor-derived Si-C-N ceramics after creep testing in air were characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD analysis showed that the crept Si-C-N ceramics were covered by an α-cristobalite layer. TEM observations revealed that the precipitated nanocrystallites in the crept Si-C-N ceramics were β-SiC. Between α-cristobalite and crept Si-C-N ceramic, there was an intermediate zone in which Si₂N₂O nanocrystallites were distributed homogeneously. Moreover, Si₂N₂O nanocrystallites were often found covering the surface of nanosized gas channels in the crept Si-C-N ceramics, where no α-cristobalite phase was detected. Based on these observations, a two-step oxidation mechanism of Si-C-N ceramics during creep testing in air was proposed.