Peracetic acid pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse for enzymatic hydrolysis: a continued work

Previous work has shown that the enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse could be greatly enhanced by peracetic acid (PAA) pretreatment. There are several factors affecting the enzymatic digestibility of the biomass, including lignin and hemicelluloses content, cellulose crystallinity, acetyl group content, accessible surface area and so on. The objective of this work is to analyze the mechanism of the enhancement of enzymatic digestibility caused by PAA pretreatment. Delignification resulted in an increase of the surface area and reduction of the irreversible absorption of cellulase, which helped to increase the enzymatic digestibility. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum showed that the absorption peaks of aromatic skeletal vibrations were weakened or disappeared after PAA pretreatment. However, the infrared crystallization index (N.O'KI) was increased. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the crystallinity of PAA‐treated samples was increased owing to the partial removal of amorphous lignin and hemicelluloses and probable physical change of cellulose. The effect of acetyl group content on enzymatic digestibility is negligible compared with the degree of delignification and crystallinity. The results indicate that enhancement of enzymatic digestibility of sugarcane bagasse by PAA pretreatment is achieved mainly by delignification and an increase in the surface area and exposure of cellulose fibers. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Evaluation of Digitally Encoded Layer‐by‐layer Coated Microparticles as Cell Carriers

To obtain more biologically relevant data there is a growing interest in the use of living cells for assaying the biological activity of unknown chemical compounds. Density ‘multiplex’ cell‐based assays, where different cell types are mixed in one well and simultaneously investigated upon exposure to a certain compound are beginning to emerge. To be able to identify the cells they should be attached to microscopic carriers that are encoded. This paper investigates how digitally encoded microparticles can be loaded with cells while keeping the digital code in the microcarriers readable. It turns out that coating the surface of the encoded microcarriers with polyelectrolytes using the layer‐by‐layer (LbL) approach provides the microcarriers with a ‘highly functional’ surface. The polyelectrolyte layer allows the growth of the cells, allows the orientation of the cell loaded microcarriers in a magnetic field, and does not hamper the reading of the code. It has further been shown that the cells growing on the polyelectrolyte layer can become transduced by adenoviral particles hosted by the polyelectrolyte layer. It is concluded that the digitally encoded microparticles are promising materials for use in biomedical and pharmaceutical in‐vitro research where cells are used as tools.     

Multi-functional biochip for medical diagnostics and pathogen detection

We describe a multi-functional biochip (MFB), which uses two different types of bioreceptors, including nucleic acid and antibody probes, on a single platform. The multi-functional capability of the MFB device for biomedical diagnostics is illustrated by measurements of DNA probes specific to gene fragments of Bacillus anthracis and antibody probes targeted to Escherichia coli. Calibration curves for monitoring pathogenic species using antibody probes against E. coli and DNA probes for B. anthracis illustrate the capability of the device for medical diagnostics and for quantitative detection of pathogenic agents.     

Conditionals and conditional probability.

The authors report 3 experiments in which participants were invited to judge the probability of statements of the form if p then q given frequency information about the cases pq, p?q, ?pq, and ?p?q (where ? = not). Three hypotheses were compared: (a) that people equate the probability with that of the material conditional, 1 - P(p?q); (b) that people assign the conditional probability, P(q/p); and (c) that people assign the conjunctive probability P(pq). The experimental evidence allowed rejection of the 1st hypothesis but provided some support for the 2nd and 3rd hypotheses. Individual difference analyses showed that half of the participants used conditional probability and that most of the remaining participants used conjunctive probability as the basis of their judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semiempirical,squeeze flow,and intermolecular diffusion model. II. Model verification using laser microwelding

This article reviews the application of a coupled squeeze flow and intermolecular diffusion model, which was used to predict the quality and size of microwelds in plastics. Weld widths predictions were compared with previously presented experimental results using moving heat source models and temperature fields. The motivation for this work was to develop and verify a model based on fundamental principles that could accurately predict weld size and strength for conventional plastic welding techniques as well as novel techniques such as laser microwelding. It is envisioned that the resulting model could be used to predict proper welding parameters, including laser power and travel speed, to produce welds of varying size. Although insight into weld quality can be derived from this model, it was not the goal of this work to accurately predict weld strength for laser microwelding because of the difficulty in measuring weld strength on the micron scale. However, as reported in Part 1, weld strength for impulse welds were accurately predicted. In this model it was found that variable temperature histories, rather than a single value of maximum weld temperature, allows more accurate modeling of the welding process. In this work (Part 2), microwelds as small as 11 μm in width were produced with transmission infrared welding. In addition, welds over 150‐μm wide were also generated and the model was able to predict the range of weld widths that were found experimentally. It was found that the predictions were in very good agreement with the experimental results. There was some deviation between the experimental data and the model at the extreme parameters and it is believed that this was due to the temperature‐dependent material properties as well as optical aberrations. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

From Long Infrared to Very Long Infrared Wavelength Focal Plane Arrays Made with HgCdTe n + n ?/ p Ion Implantation Technology

This paper aims at studying the feasibility of very long infrared wavelength (VLWIR) (12–18 μm) focal plane arrays using n-on-p planar ion-implanted technology. To explore and analyze the feasibility of such VLWIR detectors, a set of four Cd _x Hg_1−x Te LPE layers with an 18 μ cutoff at 50 K has been processed at Defir (LETI/LIR–Sofradir joint laboratory), using both our “standard” n-on-p process and our improved low dark current process. Several 320 × 256 arrays, 30-μm pitch, have been hybridized on standard Sofradir readout circuits and tested. Small dimension test arrays characterization is also presented. Measured photonic currents with a 20°C black body suggest an internal quantum efficiency above 50%. Typical I(V) curves and thermal evolution of the saturation current are discussed, showing that standard photodiodes remain diffusion limited at low biases for temperatures down to 30 K. Moreover, the dark current gain brought by the improved process is clearly visible for temperatures higher than 40 K. Noise measurements are also discussed showing that a very large majority of detectors appeared background limited under usual illumination and biases. In our opinion, such results demonstrate the feasibility of high-performance complex focal plane arrays in the VLWIR range at medium term.     

The impact of roasting on the ochratoxin A content of coffee

Roasting coffee led to a drop in the ochratoxin A (OTA) concentration, as measured by the reference method, especially for dark type roasts. The way the beverage was prepared also affected the OTA content, which could paradoxically be higher than that of the initial roasted coffee. Assays on the thermal stability of pure OTA showed that it ought to be found in larger quantities in roasted coffee. This suggested that OTA was masked by reactions with the substrate during roasting. The absence of OTA in green coffee is therefore the best guarantee of safety.