From acacia honey monosaccharide content to a new external binary plasticizer applicable in aqueous whey protein films

Plasticizer is an essential adjuvant in food and pharmaceutical film coatings affecting the appearance, mechanical and permeation properties of the final coat. In the present study, film formation and plasticization of native whey proteins (potential future “green” coating agents for pharmaceuticals and food products), were studied with free isolated films. Special attention was paid to the effects of plasticizer, preheating and film forming solution pH on the mechanical stress–strain and moisture permeation properties of whey protein films. Glycerol, binary mixtures of fructose and glucose, and non-crystalline acacia honey were studied as external plasticizers. The type and amount of plasticizer affected the mechanical stress–strain properties of the whey protein films. A short preheating treatment of whey proteins prior to film casting resulted in mechanically strong films with a reduced elongation. The film forming properties of aqueous whey proteins could be modified by adjusting the pH above the isoelectric point of β-lactoglobulin prior to film coating. For effective plasticization, whey protein films required a high amount of monosaccharide containing plasticizer ranging from 80% to 120% (calculated from the protein weight). A new external binary plasticizer having the same ratio of monosaccharides as non-crystalline acacia honey (fructose and glucose 1.67:1) was found to be applicable in aqueous whey protein films.     

On the Correlation of Effective Terahertz Refractive Index and Average Surface Roughness of Pharmaceutical Tablets

In this paper, we have studied terahertz (THz) pulse time delay of porous pharmaceutical microcrystalline compacts and also pharmaceutical tablets that contain indomethacin (painkiller) as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and microcrystalline cellulose as the matrix of the tablet. The porosity of a pharmaceutical tablet is important because it affects the release of drug substance. In addition, surface roughness of the tablet has much importance regarding dissolution of the tablet and hence the rate of drug release. Here, we show, using a training set of tablets containing API and with a priori known tablet’s quality parameters, that the effective refractive index (obtained from THz time delay data) of such porous tablets correlates with the average surface roughness of a tablet. Hence, THz pulse time delay measurement in the transmission mode provides information on both porosity and the average surface roughness of a compact. This is demonstrated for two different sets of pharmaceutical tablets having different porosity and average surface roughness values.     

The kinetics of the Cu/Cu redox couple in deep eutectic solvents

Kinetics of electron transfer of the Cu(I)/Cu(II) redox couple at a platinum electrode has been studied with chronoamperometry, cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy in a deep eutectic solvent consisting of choline chloride and ethylene glycol. At 25 °C, the reaction was found to be quasi-reversible with a relatively high rate constant k⁰ of 9.5 ± 2 × 10⁻⁴ cm s⁻¹, and a charge transfer coefficient α of 0.25 ± 0.05. Diffusion coefficients for the Cu(I) and Cu(II) complexes were determined to be 2.7 ± 0.1 × 10⁻⁷ and 1.5 ± 0.1 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹, respectively. The viscosity of the electrolyte was 41 ± 3 mPa s. The temperature dependency was also investigated. The activation energy of mass transfer was found to be 27.7 ± 1 kJ mol⁻¹ and that of electron transfer 39 ± 7 kJ mol⁻¹. Speciation of the Cu(I) and Cu(II) complexes was determined using UV–VIS spectroscopy, and the prevailing Cu(I) complex was found to be [CuCl₃]²⁻ and that of Cu(II) [CuCl₄]²⁻.     

Surplus equivalence of leveled commitment contracts

In automated negotiation systems consisting of self-interested agents, contracts have traditionally been binding. Leveled commitment contracts—i.e., contracts where each party can decommit by paying a predetermined penalty—were recently shown to improve expected social welfare even if agents decommit strategically in Nash equilibrium. Such contracts differ based on whether agents have to declare their decommitting decisions sequentially or simultaneously, and whether or not agents have to pay the penalties if both decommit. For a given contract, these mechanisms lead to different decommitting thresholds, probabilities, and expected social welfare. However, this paper shows that each of these mechanisms leads to the same social welfare when the contract price and penalties are optimized for each mechanism separately. Our derivations allow agents to construct optimal leveled commitment contracts. We show that such integrative bargaining does not hinder distributive bargaining: the surplus can be divided arbitrarily (as long as each agent benefits), e.g., equally, without compromising optimality. Nonuniqueness questions are answered. We also show that surplus equivalence ceases to hold if agents are not risk neutral.     

Modeling anisotropic light propagation in a realistic model of the human head

A Monte Carlo model capable of describing photon migration in arbitrary three-dimensional geometry with spatially varying optical properties and tissue anisotropy is presented. We use the model to explore the effects of anisotropy for optical measurements of the human head. An anisotropic diffusion equation that corresponds to our Monte Carlo model is derived, and a comparison between the Monte Carlo model and the diffusion equation solution with finite elements is given.     

Nucleated polymerisation in the presence of pre-formed seed filaments

We revisit the classical problem of nucleated polymerisation and derive a range of exact results describing polymerisation in systems intermediate between the well-known limiting cases of a reaction starting from purely soluble material and for a reaction where no new growth nuclei are formed.     

Multilocus sequence typing of Propionibacterium freudenreichii

Propionibacterium freudenreichii is used as a ripening culture in Swiss cheese manufacture. This study investigates the molecular diversity and the population structure of this bacterium via multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Internal fragments of seven genes sequenced for 113 strains of different subspecies and origins allowed the resolution of 46 sequence types (STs) with occurrence frequencies ranging from 1 to 11. The core genome of the species harbours a low level of nucleotide polymorphism. In our data, single nucleotide polymorphisms account for only 2.28% of the concatenated sequences, and the average polymorphism rate in pairwise comparisons is 0.46%. The analyses reveal quantitatively comparable contributions of recombination and mutation in nucleotide changes at core genome loci along cell lineages. Remarkably, the STs exhibit little if any dairy biotope specialization. Phenotypic characterisation of the strains, based on their aptitude to use lactose and nitrate, shows that the two previously identified subspecies (freudenreichii and shermani) do not reflect the ancestral relationships in the P. freudenreichii population. The considerable phenotypic heterogeneity, found even at the ST level, suggests instead a history of recurrent switches between phenotypes.     

Microfluidic Templating of Spatially Inhomogeneous Protein Microgels

3D scaffolds in the form of hydrogels and microgels have allowed for more native cell‐culture systems to be developed relative to flat substrates. Native biological tissues are, however, usually spatially inhomogeneous and anisotropic, but regulating the spatial density of hydrogels at the microscale to mimic this inhomogeneity has been challenging to achieve. Moreover, the development of biocompatible synthesis approaches for protein‐based microgels remains challenging, and typical gelation conditions include UV light, extreme pH, extreme temperature, or organic solvents, factors which can compromise the viability of cells. This study addresses these challenges by demonstrating an approach to fabricate protein microgels with controllable radial density through microfluidic mixing and physical and enzymatic crosslinking of gelatin precursor molecules. Microgels with a higher density in their cores and microgels with a higher density in their shells are demonstrated. The microgels have robust stability at 37 °C and different dissolution rates through enzymolysis, which can be further used for gradient scaffolds for 3D cell culture, enabling controlled degradability, and the release of biomolecules. The design principles of the microgels could also be exploited to generate other soft materials for applications ranging from novel protein‐only micro reactors to soft robots.     

Electromagnetic field computation in semiconductor laser resonators

An electromagnetic method based on rigorous diffraction theory of gratings is applied to the analysis of fields in semiconductor laser cavities. The method is based on the Fourier modal method; it is fully rigorous for infinitely periodic resonators and highly accurate for single resonators when absorbing boundary conditions are applied. Fundamental-mode intracavity and near-field distributions are evaluated for some selected geometries, and resonance frequencies are predicted.