Charged polaron-enhanced circular dichroism of optically nonlinear 3-nitroaniline crystal

The circular dichroism (CD) spectra in visible range of the 3-nitroaniline (m-NA) single crystal, of its solution in chloroform, and in the KBr pellet were recorded. Neither the molecular (m or C_s) nor the crystal (mm2 or C_2v) point groups belong to the chiral groups. The DFT calculation of CD spectrum of the m-NA isolated neutral molecule confirmed its chirality. The red shifted bands in the calculated CD spectrum of m-NA radical anion (charged polaron), as compared with the neutral molecule, resemble better the spectra of solids than that of the solution. It seems that these facts corroborate qualitatively the “hop and turn” model explaining the m-NA optical nonlinearity and electric conductivity proposed in Szostak et al. [M.M. Szostak, H. Chojnacki, E. Staryga, M. D?u?niewski, G. B?k, Chem. Phys. 365 (2009) 44-52].     

Consumer acceptance of high-fibre muffins and rusks baked with red palm olein

The acceptance of, preference for and consumption intent for high‐fibre muffins and/or rusks baked with either red palm olein (RPO) or sunflower oil (SFO, as control) were evaluated by two consumer groups of 144 and 67 consumers, respectively, in order to determine the possibility of their successful inclusion as carriers for oils in a subsequent nutrition intervention trial. A five‐point hedonic and food action rating scale was used for sensory evaluation. SFO muffins and rusks scored significantly higher than RPO products on a number of hedonic dimensions and were thus more acceptable to the average consumer. Sensory attributes of SFO and RPO products received high scores by consumers from both groups (≥4.0 on five‐point scale), and consumers intended to eat them often (at least one per day). The RPO products were satisfactory in terms of acceptance and complied with requirements for use in the subsequent nutrition intervention trial.     

Anisotropic Crystalline Protein Nanolayers as Multi‐Functional Biointerface for Patterned Co‐Cultures of Adherent and Non‐Adherent Cells in Microfluidic Devices

The spatial arrangement of cells in their microenvironment is known to significantly influence cellular behavior, thus making the control of cellular organization an important parameter of in vitro co‐culture models. However, recent advances in micropatterning co‐culture methods within biochips do not address the simultaneous cultivation of anchorage‐dependent and non‐adherent cells. To address this methodological gap we combine S‐layer technology with microfluidics to pattern co‐cultures to study the cell‐to‐cell and cell‐to‐surface interactions under physiologically relevant conditions. We exploit the unique self‐assembly properties of SbpA and SbsB S‐layers to create an anisotropic protein nanobiointerface on‐chip with spatially‐defined cytophilic (adhesive) and cytophobic (repulsive) properties. While microfluidics control physical parameters such as shear force and flow velocities, our anisotropic protein nanobiointerface regulates the biological aspects of the co‐culture method including biocompatibility, biostability, and affinity to non‐adherent cells. The reliability and reproducibility of our microfluidic co‐culture strategy based on laminar flow patterned protein nanolayers is envisioned to advance in vitro models for biomedical research.     

DLC‐coated pure bioplastic foil

Polymers made of renewable resources increasingly replace conventional plastic materials made of petroleum. Socalled bioplastics can be found e. g. in food industry, for agricultural usage or in the medical field. The range of applications can be further expanded with specialized coating of their surface. Especially in case of food packaging and the usage within medical devices as well as the storage of these composite materials, sterilization or at least the partial reduction of microbial growth is an important issue which needs to be addressed early in the production process. In this work, a commercially available polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) pure bioplastic foil of 50 μm thickness was coated with 100 nm of diamond‐like carbon (DLC) and afterwards treated by four different standard methods of sterilization and / or disinfection, namely deep‐freezing, ultraviolet irradiation, autoclaving and immersion in ethanol. The surface morphology of treated DLC‐coated and uncoated samples was investigated and compared to the untreated DLC‐coated and uncoated samples using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Measurements exhibited damage of the composite for autoclaved and in ethanol immersed samples, whereas deep‐frozen and ultraviolet irradiated samples showed no structural changes. These findings clearly demonstrate deep‐freezing and ultraviolet irradiation to be appropriate methods for the disinfection and sterilization, respectively, of the DLC‐coated pure bioplastic foil.     

Improvement of damage detection methods based on experimental modal parameters

The objective of this paper is to introduce a new method for structural damage detection based on experimentally obtained modal parameters. The new method is suitable for detection of fatigue damage occurring in an aluminium cantilever beam. The damage has been practically realised as saw cuts of different sizes and at different locations. The first step of analysis included an attempt of damage identification with the most often used damage indicators based on measured modal parameters. For that purpose special signal processing technique has been proposed improving the effectiveness of indicators tested. However the results obtained have not been satisfactory. That was the motivation for defining new damage indicators (frequency change based damage indicator, Hybrid Damage Detection method), utilising the change of natural frequencies and any mode shape (measured or modelled) as the measurement of frequencies is much less time consuming in comparison to total mode shape measurement. It has been shown that the proposed technique is suitable for damage localisation in beam-like structures.     

Determination of mass density, dielectric, elastic, and piezoelectric constants of bulk GaN crystal

Mass density, dielectric, elastic, and piezoelectric constants of bulk GaN crystal were determined. Mass density was obtained from the measured ratio of mass to volume of a cuboid. The dielectric constants were determined from the measured capacitances of an interdigital transducer (IDT) deposited on a Z-cut plate and from a parallel plate capacitor fabricated from this plate. The elastic and piezoelectric constants were determined by comparing the measured and calculated SAW velocities and electromechanical coupling coefficients on the Z- and X-cut plates. The following new constants were obtained: mass density p = 5986 kg/m(3); relative dielectric constants (at constant strain S) ε(S)(11)/ε(0) = 8.6 and ε(S)(11)/ε(0) = 10.5, where ε(0) is a dielectric constant of free space; elastic constants (at constant electric field E) C(E)(11) = 349.7, C(E)(12) = 128.1, C(E)(13) = 129.4, C(E)(33) = 430.3, and C(E)(44) = 96.5 GPa; and piezoelectric constants e(33) = 0.84, e(31) = -0.47, and e(15) = -0.41 C/m(2).     

Differences in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis patterns of skeletal muscle myosin light chain isoforms between Bos taurus, Sus scrofa and selected poultry species

BACKGROUND: In this study the interspecies differences in two‐dimensional electrophoresis patterns of skeletal muscle myosin light chain (MLC) isoforms between Bos taurus (cattle), Sus scrofa (pig), Gallus gallus (chicken), Meleagris gallopavo (turkey), Anas platyrhynchos (duck) and Anser anser (goose) were characterised on the basis of specific properties of MLCs associated with their structure and mobility in gel. RESULTS: Two‐dimensional electrophoresis separations revealed species‐specific differences in the molecular weight and pI of individual MLC isoforms (MLC1f, MLC2f and MLC3f). In the case of closely related animal species such as goose and duck or turkey and chicken, significant differences occurred in MLC1f. For MLC2f, differences between cattle and turkey and between pig and chicken were around 1 and 0.3 kDa respectively. It appeared from the comparison of amino acid sequences that even MLCs with only 2% difference in sequences have different electrophoretic mobilities. CONCLUSION: Interspecies differences in skeletal MLC isoforms appeared between cattle, pig, chicken, turkey, duck and goose. The slight changes observed in the course of the aging process confirmed that these proteins are relatively little susceptible to proteolytic enzymes during meat aging. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

The preparation of TiO2–nitrogen doped by calcination of TiO2·xH2O under ammonia atmosphere for visible light photocatalysis

The investigation on incorporating nitrogen group into titanium dioxide in order to obtain powdered visible light-active photocatalysts is presented. The industrial hydrated amorphous titanium dioxide (TiO₂·xH₂O) obtained directly from sulphate technology installation was modified by heat treatment at temperatures of 100–800 °C for 4 h in an ammonia atmosphere. The photocatalysts were characterized by UV–VIS–DR and XRD techniques. The UV–VIS–DR spectra of the modified catalysts exhibited an additional maximum in the VIS region (, ) which may be due to the presence of nitrogen in TiO₂ structure. On the basis of XRD analysis it can be supposed that the presence of nitrogen does not have any influence on the transformation temperature of anatase to rutile. The photocatalytic activity of the modified photocatalysts was determined on the basis of decomposition rate of phenol and azo-dye (Reactive Red 198) under visible light irradiation. The highest rate of phenol degradation was obtained for catalysts calcinated at 700 °C (6.55%), and the highest rate of dye decomposition was found for catalysts calcinated at 500 and 600 °C (ca. 40–45%). The nitrogen doping during calcination under ammonia atmosphere is a very promising way of preparation of photocatalysts which could have a practical application in water treatment system under broader solar light spectrum.