Linear hydrogen adsorbate structures on graphite induced by self-assembled molecular monolayers

Combined scanning tunnelling microscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations reveal a method to induce linear structures of hydrogen adsorbates on graphite by covering the surface with a self-assembled molecular monolayer of cyanuric acid and exposing it to atomic hydrogen. The method can in principle be applied to obtain nanopatterned hydrogen structures on free standing graphene and graphene laid down on insulating substrates, hereby opening up for the possibility of substrate independent bandgap engineering of graphene.     

Effect of food ingredients on glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion in STC-1 and HuTu-80 cells

This study aims at identifying food ingredients that have potential to enhance satiety and therefore potentially can be used for preventing and treating obesity. To do so, effects of thirteen food ingredients on the secretion of gut satiety hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in enteroendocrine STC-1 and HuTu-80 cells were investigated. First, the effects of food ingredients on cell viability were investigated. This was done to determine if the individual ingredient affected cell viability, and in case so, to determine the ingredient concentration below which, the cell viability was unaffected. Enzyme-treated whey protein, palmitic acid, stearic acid, green tea extract, and hesperidin did not affect GLP-1 secretion. Functional soy protein, fractionated functional soy protein, acetylated monoglyceride, N-oleoylethanolamine, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, hesperetin, rosemary extract, and kale extract increased GLP-1 secretion in at least one cell line. However, the effects of the eight potent ingredients on GLP-1 secretion need to be further investigated in vivo.     

Characterization of marama bean (Tylosema esculentum) by comparative spectroscopy: NMR, FT-Raman, FT-IR and NIR

The marama bean from Southern Africa has proven to be a source for production of various healthy food products. In order to exploit its commercial potential, it is important to know its chemical composition in more detail. In this study, marama beans from different geographical sites and harvest years were analyzed by use of infrared, near infrared, Raman, and ¹H as well as ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These techniques can measure single beans in a rapid and non-destructive manner. By comparative application, the qualitative composition of the marama bean was explored in detail, revealing large amounts of protein, dietary fiber and unsaturated fat. The carbohydrate fraction was largely present as pectins and a minor fraction of smaller water soluble carbohydrates were tentatively assigned to raffinose. It is characteristic that the beans do not contain starch or ??-glucans and that the water soluble part of the proteins/peptides have a high content of the aromatic amino acid tyrosine.     

A stochastic model for the simulation of wind turbine blades in static stall

The aim of this work is to improve aeroelastic simulation codes by accounting for the unsteady aerodynamic forces that a blade experiences in static stall. A model based on a spectral representation of the aerodynamic lift force is defined. The drag and pitching moment are derived using a conditional simulation technique for stochastic processes. The input data for the model can be collected either from measurements or from numerical results from a Computational Fluid Dynamics code for airfoil sections at constant angles of attack. An analysis of such data is provided, which helps to determine the characteristics of stall. The model is applied to wind turbine rotor cases, including the stand still condition, and results are compared to experimental data. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kinetics and thermodynamics of hydrogenation-dehydrogenation for Mg-25%TM (TM = Ti,Nb or V) composites synthesized by reactive ball milling in hydrogen

0.75Mg?0.25TM?H (TM = Ti, Nb or V) samples were mechano-chemically synthesized by reactive ball milling. The detailed reaction mechanism during hydrogen release and uptake was investigated by in-situ synchrotron radiation powder X-ray diffraction (SR-PXD) experiments. The thermodynamic and kinetic properties have been studied by Sievert's method. On the base of calculated values of the Gibbs free energy for reaction of hydrogen absorption (ΔG < 0) it reveals that hydrogenation reaction could thermodynamically proceed at room temperature, which is experimentally confirmed for all of the studied composites. It is clearly shown that β-MgH₂ forms at RT under conditions of experiment. Comparative analysis of the MgTi, MgV and MgNb systems makes it possible to establish that the most effective additive facilitating hydrogen uptake, particularly at RT, is vanadium. It provides the degree of conversion into hydride phase α = 0.86 for the first minute of hydrogenation. In contrast, additives of Nb and Ti provide only α = 0.62 and 0.36, respectively, following the 30 min of exposure. However, this study reveals that for the dehydrogenation process, titanium is the best among the examined additives, which is evidenced by lowest value of activation energy E_a = 53.6 kJ/mol of the hydrogen desorption.     

Hemostatic multilayer coatings

Spray layer-by-layer assembly is used to create hemostatic films containing thrombin and tannic acid. The spray assembly technique enables coating of porous and absorbent commercial gelatin sponges with these films. Coated sponges are able to promote instantaneous hemostasis in a porcine spleen bleeding model.     

Developing a country specific method for estimating nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils in Canada

Accurate estimates of nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from agricultural soils and management factors that influence emissions are necessary to capture the impact of mitigation measures and carry out life cycle analyses aimed at identifying best practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We propose improvements to a country specific method for estimating N₂O emissions from agricultural soils in Canada based on a compilation of soil N₂O flux data from recent published literature. We provide a framework for the development of empirical models that could be applied in regions where similar data and information on N₂O emissions are available. The method considers spatial elements such as soil texture, topography and climate based on a quantitative empirical relationship between synthetic N-induced soil N₂O emission factor (EF) and growing season precipitation (P) {N₂OEF?=?e^{(0.00558P?7.7)}}. Emission factors vary from less than 0.0025 kg N₂O-N kg N^?1 in semi-arid regions of Canada to greater than 0.025 kg N₂O-N kg N^?1 in humid regions. This approach differentiates soil N₂O EFs based on management factors. Specifically, empirical ratio factors are applied for sources of N of 1.0, 0.84, and 0.28 for synthetic N, animal manure N and crop residue N, respectively. Crop type ratio factors where soil N₂O EFs from applied manure- and synthetic-N on perennial crops are approximately 19% of those on annual crops. This proposed approach improves the accuracy of the dominant factors that modulate N₂O emissions from N application to soils.