Stability studies of CdSe nanocrystals in an aqueous environment

In this paper, CdSe nanocrystal dissolution in an aqueous solution was studied. It was found that light is a key factor affecting the dissolution of nanocrystals. In the presence of light, the electrons generated from CdSe nanocrystals reduce water to hydrogen and hydroxide ions (OH-) while photo-generated holes oxidize CdSe to Cd2+ and elemental Se. The dissolution was accelerated in an acidic medium while moderate alkalinity (pH=10.3) can slow down the dissolution possibly due to precipitation of nanocrystals. This study has strong implications for the use of these crystals in aqueous environments (bioimaging and dye-sensitized solar cells).     

A solvothermal single‐step route towards shape‐controlled titanium dioxide nanocrystals

A versatile synthetic method which is based on a solvothermal technique for the fabrication of highly crystalline TiO₂ nanocrystals (NC) exhibiting different shapes such as rhombic, truncated rhombic, spherical, dog‐bone, truncated, and elongated rhombic is reported. The dominant features of the present approach are first the use of water vapor as hydrolysis agent to accelerate the reaction, and second, the use of both oleic acid (OA) and oleylamine (OM) as two distinct capping surfactants having different binding strengths for the control of the growth of the TiO₂ nanoparticles. It is shown that the presence of an appropriate amount of water vapor along with the desired OA/OM molar ratio plays a crucial role in controlling size and shape of TiO₂ NCs. Moreover, it is also established that the thus‐obtained TiO₂ NCs are excellent support for the synthesis of composite metal/TiO₂ photocatalysts in which metal clusters are uniformly deposited on the surface of each individual TiO₂ NC. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering     

Bi-histogram equalization using two plateau limits

Histogram equalization is an effective method for contrast enhancement on images, but it suffers from some problems such as the tendency to change the mean brightness, loss of information and the introduction of saturation levels which causes an unnatural appearance in the resulting image. Due to the aforementioned problems, a variety of histogram equalization methods have been developed in order to preserve the image brightness, thus avoiding saturation levels that cause loss of information. In this paper, the bi-histogram equalization using two plateau limits (BHE2PL) for histogram equalization is proposed. BHE2PL divides the global histogram into two sub-histograms; then, each sub-histogram is modified by two plateau limits in order to avoid over-enhancement of the image. Experimental results indicate that the BHE2PL method exhibits a better mean brightness preservation compared to methods found in the state of the art; in addition to also presenting a reasonable computation time.     

Impact of Dark Specialty Malts on Extract Composition and Wort Fermentation

Dark specialty malts are important ingredients for the production of several beer styles. These malts not only impart colour, flavour and antioxidative activity to wort and beer, they also affect the course of wort fermentations and the production of flavour‐active yeast metabolites. The application of considerable levels of dark malt was found to lower the attenuation, mainly as a result of lower levels of fermentable sugars and amino acids in dark wort samples. In fact, from the darkest caramel malts and from roasted malts, practically no fermentable material can be hydrolysed by pilsner malt enzymes during mashing. Compared to wort brewed with 50% pilsner malt and 50% dark caramel malt or roasted malt, wort brewed with 100% pilsner malt contained nearly twice as much fermentable sugars and amino acids. Reduced levels of yeast nutrients also lowered the fermentation rate, ranging from 1.7°P/day for the reference pilsner wort of 9 EBC to 1.1°P/day for the darkest wort (890 EBC units), brewed with 50% roasted malt. This additionally indicates that lower attenuation values for dark wort are partially due to the inhibitory effects of Maillard compounds on yeast metabolism. The application of dark caramel or roasted malts further led to elevated levels of the vicinal diketones diacetyl and 2,3‐pentanedione. Only large levels of roasted malt gave rise to two significant diacetyl peaks during fermentation. The level of ethyl acetate in beer was inversely related to colour, whereas the level of isoamyl acetate appeared to be affected by the use of roasted malt. With large levels of this malt type, negligible isoamyl acetate was generated during fermentation.     

Gold Coating of Silver Nanoprisms

Core–shell Ag@Au nanoprisms are prepared through a surfactant‐free seed‐mediated approach by taking advantage of the anisotropic structure of silver nanoprisms as seeds. The gold coating on the silver nanoprism surface is achieved by using hydroxylamine as a mild reducing agent, and the final fully gold‐coated prism structures are confirmed by microscopic and spectroscopic characterization. The resulting Ag@Au core–shell structure preserves the optical signatures of nanoprisms and offers versatile functionality and particularly better stability against oxidation than the bare silver nanoprism. The surface plasmon resonances of the core–shell Ag@Au nanoprisms can be tuned throughout the visible and near‐IR range as a function of the Au shell thickness. Such tailorable optical features and surfactant‐free gold shells have great potential applications in biosensing and bioimaging.     

Addition of sucralose enhances the release of satiety hormones in combination with pea protein

Scope Exposing the intestine to proteins or tastants, particularly sweet, affects satiety hormone release. There are indications that each sweetener has different effects on this release, and that combining sweeteners with other nutrients might exert synergistic effects on hormone release. Methods and results STC‐1 cells were incubated with acesulfame‐K, aspartame, saccharine, sucralose, sucrose, pea, and pea with each sweetener. After a 2‐h incubation period, cholecystokinin(CCK) and glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1) concentrations were measured. Using Ussing chamber technology, the mucosal side of human duodenal biopsies was exposed to sucrose, sucralose, pea, and pea with each sweetener. CCK and GLP‐1 levels were measured in basolateral secretions. In STC‐1 cells, exposure to aspartame, sucralose, sucrose, pea, and pea with sucralose increased CCK levels, whereas GLP‐1 levels increased after addition of all test products. Addition of sucrose and sucralose to human duodenal biopsies did not affect CCK and GLP‐1 release; addition of pea stimulated CCK and GLP‐1 secretion. Conclusion Combining pea with sucrose and sucralose induced even higher levels of CCK and GLP‐1. Synchronous addition of pea and sucralose to enteroendocrine cells induced higher levels of CCK and GLP‐1 than addition of each compound alone. This study shows that combinations of dietary compounds synergize to enhance satiety hormone release.     

Multielement stable isotope ratios (H,C, N,S) of honey from different European regions

The aim of this study as a part of the food traceability project “TRACE” funded by the EU was to investigate if honeys produced in regions with different climatic and geological characteristics could be discriminated on the basis of the isotopic data. The hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotope ratios of 516 authentic honeys from 20 European regions are presented and discussed. As honey contains only small quantities of nitrogen and sulphur, the honey protein was precipitated in order to obtain measurable amounts of these elements. The mean hydrogen isotopic ratios of the honey protein were found to be significantly correlated with the mean hydrogen isotopic ratios of precipitation and groundwater in the production regions. Carbon isotopic ratios were influenced by climate. The sulphur stable isotope composition is clearly influenced by geographical location (sea spray effect) and surface geology of the production regions. The results show that the stable isotope ratios of the four bio-elements carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and sulphur in honey protein can be applied to verify the origin of honey. Carbon and sulphur were identified by canonical discriminant analysis as providing the maximum discrimination between honey samples. For seven regions the percentage of correct classified samples is greater than 70%. It was concluded that the methodology in its current state can be used to provide reliable origin information.     

Effectiveness of leaded petrol phase-out in Tianjin, China based on the aerosol lead concentration and isotope abundance ratio

The phase-out of leaded petrol has been a measure widely used to reduce atmospheric lead pollution. Since the 1980s, China began to promote unleaded petrol. In order to assess the effectiveness of the measure an isotope fingerprint technique was applied for aerosol samples in the city of Tianjin. After dilute acid leaching, the lead concentration and isotope abundance ratios were determined for 123 samples collected in Tianjin during eight years (1994-2001). The 206Pb/207Pb ratio was lower in summer, when coal combustion emission was low and vehicle exhaust became more important, indicating that the 206Pb/207Pb ratio of leaded petrol in Tianjin is lower than that of aerosol samples. The 206Pb/207Pb ratio gradually increased from 1994 to 2001, a trend that suggests that the contribution from vehicle exhaust was diminishing. Overall, the measurements matched well with national statistical data of leaded and unleaded petrol production. After the nationwide switch to unleaded gasoline, comprehensive control measures are urgently needed to reduce air lead pollution in China, as aerosol lead reduced slightly but remains at a relatively high level.