Shaping Liquid Crystals with Gold Nanoparticles: Helical Assemblies with Tunable and Hierarchical Structures Via Thin-Film Cooperative Interactions

The availability of helical assemblies of plasmonic nanoparticles with precisely controlled and tunable structures can play a key role in the future development of chiral plasmonics and metamaterials. Here, a strategy to efficiently yield helical structures based on the cooperative interactions of liquid crystals and gold nanoparticles in thin films is developed. These nanocomposites exhibit exceptional long-range hierarchical order across length scales, which results from the growth mechanism of nanoparticle-coated twisted nanoribbons and their ability to form organized bundles. The helical assembly formation is governed by the presence of rationally functionalized nanoparticles. Importantly, the thickness of the achieved nanocomposites can be reversibly reconfigured owing to the polymorphic nature of the liquid crystal. The versatility of the proposed approach is demonstrated by preparing helices assembled from nanoparticles of different geometries and dimensions (spherical and rod-like). The described strategy may become an enabling technology for structuring nanoparticle assemblies with high precision and fabricating optically active materials.     

Detonation properties of 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethene (DADNE)

1,1-Diamino-2,2-dinitroethene (DADNE, FOX-7) is an explosive of current interest. In our work, an advanced study of detonation characteristics of this explosive was performed. DADNE was prepared and recrystallized on a laboratory scale. Some sensitivity and detonation properties of DADNE were determined. The detonation performance was established by measurements of the detonation wave velocity, detonation pressure and calorimetric heat of explosion as well as the accelerating ability. The JWL (Jones-Wilkins-Lee) isentrope and the constant-gamma isentrope for the detonation products of DADNE were also found.     

Kinetic energy release and mean life time of metastable ions produced from C3H3N

Metastable ions C₃H_nN⁺ (n = 1, 2 or 3) and C₂H₂⁺ produced by electron impact on the neutral C₃H₃N (acrylonitrile) undergo metastable decay reactions resulting in the fragment ions C₃H_mN⁺ (m = 1, 2) or C₂H₂⁺. We have monitored these reactions in a double focusing mass spectrometer of reversed B-E geometry. To identify the fragment ions and determine their kinetic energy release distribution (KERD), the mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy (MIKE) scan technique was utilized. For the above mentioned ions we obtained average KER values ranging from 9 up to 23 meV. Moreover, the fractions of decaying ions were measured. We have found the existence of two states of the metastable C₂H₂⁺ ion, one with a short life time of about 0.27 μs and the other one which is most likely a completely stable ion state.     

Linear cone-invariant control systems and their equivalence

In this paper, we study invariant control systems that generalise positive systems. A characterisation of linear control systems invariant on polyhedral cones (corner regions) in the state-space, called cone-invariant linear control systems, is established both for the inputs taking values in a polyhedral cone in the control space and for the inputs taking values in an affine polyhedral cone. The problem of equivalence between control systems invariant on corner regions is introduced. For cone-invariant linear control systems, we study invariance-preserving state-equivalence and invariance-preserving feedback-equivalence and present characterisations of both notions of equivalence.     

Effect of nonthermal treatments on selected natural food pigments and color changes in plant material

In recent years, traditional high-temperature food processing is continuously being replaced by nonthermal processes. Nonthermal processes have a positive effect on food quality, including color and maintaining natural food pigments. Thus, this article describes the influence of nonthermal, new, and traditional treatments on natural food pigments and color changes in plant materials. Characteristics of natural pigments, such as anthocyanins, betalains, carotenoids, chlorophylls, and so forth available in the plant tissue, are shortly presented. Also, the characteristics and mechanism of nonthermal processes such as pulsed electric field, ultrasound, high hydrostatic pressure, pulsed light, cold plasma, supercritical fluid extraction, and lactic acid fermentation are described. Furthermore, the disadvantages of these processes are mentioned. Each treatment is evaluated in terms of its effects on all types of natural food pigments, and the possible applications are discussed. Analysis of the latest literature showed that the use of nonthermal technologies resulted in better preservation of pigments contained in the plant tissue and improved yield of extraction. However, it is important to select the appropriate processing parameters and to optimize this process in relation to a specific type of raw material.     

Intermediates in the protein folding process: a computational model

The paper presents a model for simulating the protein folding process in silico. The two-step model (which consists of the early stage-ES and the late stage-LS) is verified using two proteins, one of which is treated (according to experimental observations) as the early stage and the second as an example of the LS step. The early stage is based solely on backbone structural preferences, while the LS model takes into account the water environment, treated as an external hydrophobic force field and represented by a 3D Gauss function. The characteristics of 1ZTR (the ES intermediate, as compared with 1ENH, which is the LS intermediate) confirm the link between the gradual disappearance of ES characteristics in LS structural forms and the simultaneous emergence of LS properties in the 1ENH protein. Positive verification of ES and LS characteristics in these two proteins (1ZTR and 1ENH respectively) suggest potential applicability of the presented model to in silico protein folding simulations.     

New Al2O3–Cu–Ni functionally graded composites manufactured using the centrifugal slip casting

The aim of this paper was to establish the general suitability of the centrifugal slip casting technique for fabrication of graded material from the Al₂O₃–Cu–Ni system. The present investigation is a preliminary one and the obtained results may be regarded as a point for acquiring the new knowledge in the ternary ceramic metal system fabricated using centrifugal slip casting. The rheological study provided the evidence that the suspension used to fabricate composites is a non-Newtonian slurry. Moreover, the results demonstrated that the prepared slurry is stable over time. The obtained composites has a hollow cylindrical shape with relative density of > 95%. The XRD study results revealed three phases: Al₂O₃, Ni, and CuNi. The microscopic investigations revealed a nonhomogeneous distribution of the metallic phase in the composite. It has been shown that the content of the metallic phase decreased with the increased distance from the outside to the inner edge of the ceramic-metal composite. The study results allow to conclude that the interface between the phases is more continuous when sintering was carried out in a solid phase. However, it was found that when sintering was carried out in a liquid phase separated metal particles with spherical phase are formed.     

Catalytic Cracking of Rapeseed Oil with Binary Oxide Systems: An Alternative to Production of Petrochemicals

The aim of this work is to evaluate analytical tools for fast assessment of the catalysts’ ability to conduct a catalytic cracking process with the use of vegetable oils. The practical context of the presented concept relates to the use of cracking reaction products as valuable chemical raw materials. The proposed analytical tools allow for quick assessment of reaction products, indication of the molecular weight range, or the presence of specific functional groups. We want to emphasize that vegetable oils can not only be raw products for biofuels but also an alternative to petrochemicals. The study was undertaken to determine the influence of acid–base properties of catalysts on the rapeseed oil conversion process at 500°C. The effect of these properties on the character of the process and quality of the products obtained was shown to be very high. Basic correlations between the formation of coke, gaseous products and dehydrogenation products, and acid–base parameters of the individual catalysts have been observed. The use of spectroscopic methods (FTIR - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, ¹H NMR - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) for fast qualitative analysis of the products is described.