Electronic structure and quantum transport properties of trilayers formed from graphene and boron nitride

We report the results of a theoretical study of graphene/BN/graphene and BN/graphene/BN trilayers using the van-der-Waals-corrected density functional theory in conjunction with the non-equilibrium Green's Function method. These trilayer systems formed from graphene and BN exhibit distinct stacking-dependent features in their ground state electronic structure and response to an applied electric field perpendicular to the trilayer planes. The graphene/BN/graphene system shows a negligible gap in the electronic band structure that increases for the AAA and ABA stackings under an external electric field, while the zero-field band gap of BN/graphene/BN remains unaffected by the electric field. When both types of trilayer systems are contacted with gold electrodes, a metal-like conduction is predicted in the low-field regime, which changes to a p-type conduction with an increase in the applied perpendicular bias field.     

Effect of glycerol on electrical conducting of chitosan/polyaniline blends

Chitosan (Cs) and polyaniline (PANI) were studied in this article for possible application as conductive and flexible films. Cs is a biodegradable polymer, that presents interesting properties as film applications. Otherwise, PANI is a semiconductor polymer with a wide range of applications. The films were produced by casting adding 30% glycerol and glutaraldehyde. The morphology, thermally, chemical structure, and electrical properties of films were obtained. Results showed the casting technique becomes possible to obtain self-standing films, with a chemical structure identical to precursor materials. Glutaraldehyde reacted to amine groups of terminal PANI chains, acting in the increase of electric conductivity and decrease of sheet resistance. The plasticizing effect of glycerol increased the spacing between Cs chains and facilitated the PANI dispersion. Therefore, glycerol and glutaraldehyde proved to be extremely efficient in increasing the electrical conductivity of blends.     

Assessment of nutrient returns in a tropical dry forest after clear-cut without burning

Tropical dry forests (TDFs) are being deforested at unprecedented rates. The slash/burn/agriculture/fallow-extensive livestock sequence causes significant nutrient losses and soil degradation. Our aim is to assess nutrient inputs and outputs in a TDF area under an alternative management system, for exclusive wood production. The study involved clear-cutting a preserved caatinga TDF site without burning, quantifying nutrients exported in firewood/timber and nutrients returned to the soil from the litter layer plus the slash debris, left to decompose unburned on the soil surface. Before clear-cut, the litter layer on the forest floor contained 6.1 t ha of dry matter (DM). After clear-cut, the aboveground biomass was 61.9 t DM ha^?1 (consisting of 21.5 t DM ha^?1 of commercial wood and 40.4 t DM ha^?1 of clear-cut debris that did not include the underlying litter layer). The litter layer was composed of fine and coarse litter, with turnovers of 0.86 and 0.31 year^?1, respectively, separately measured in uncut control plots during two rainy seasons (Dec-2007/June-2008 and Dec-2008/June-2009). In a single season, its decomposition returned to the soil 48.4, 1.16 and 12.3 kg ha^?1 of N, P and K. The clear-cut debris was mainly composed of branches, 33.4 t ha^?1, bromeliads, 5.63 t ha^?1 and green leaves, 1.32 t ha^?1. In-situ decomposition rates for branches and bromeliads were 0.24 and 1.47 year^?1, respectively. After two rainy seasons the clear-cut debris released 206, 6.5 and 106 kg ha^?1 of N, P and K respectively. This input plus that of the underlying litter layer exceeded exports in the commercial wood, and replenished a soil nutrient stock (0–30 cm) of approximately the same magnitude.     

Environmental fate and effect of biodegradable electro-spun scaffolds (biomaterial)-a case study

Poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) based medical devices are increasingly produced and thus, their presence in the environment is likely to increase. The present study analysed the biodegradation of PCL electro-spun scaffolds (alone) and PCL electro-spun scaffolds coated with human recombinant (hR) collagen and Bovine Achilles tendon (BAT) collagen in sewage sludge and in soil. Additionally, an eco-toxicological test with the model organism Enchytraeus crypticus was performed to assess environmental hazard of the produced materials in soils. The electro-spun scaffolds were exposed to activated sludge and three different soils for various time periods (0-7-14-21-28-56-180 days); subsequently the degradation was determined by weight loss and microscopical analysis. Although no toxicity occurred in terms of Enchytraeus crypticus reproduction, our data indicate that biodegradation was dependent on the coating of the material and exposure condition. Further, only partial PCL decomposition was possible in sewage treatment plants. Collectively, these data indicate that electro-spun PCL scaffolds are transferred to amended soils.     

Tetra- and pentanucleotide short tandem repeat instability in gastric cancer

The association between genetic instability in repetitive DNA domains and cancer has been reported in different types of malignancies. In this work we perform a comparative study of 29 gastric tumors with paired normal tissue using seven tetra-(FES/FPS, VWA31/A, HTPO, TH01, MBPB) and pentanucleotide (CD4, TP53) STR polymorphic markers regarding loss of heterozygosity and replication error status. Furthermore, we compare the gene frequencies obtained in normal tissue from patients with those of a normal control population from the same area, looking for allele associations between any of these polymorphic loci and gastric cancer risk. The results have shown that FES/FPS and TP53 present the higher rates of somatic instability. The observed results for TP53 are in accordance with those previously reported in gastric carcinogenesis, while instability of FES/FPS is for the first time reported in this tumor type. Our data suggest that different loci show different rates of instability and/or loss of heterozygosity and do not seem to consist of a result of an RER+ phenotype affecting several genomic repetitive domains. Furthermore, the instability in markers TH01, MBPB, TP53, and FES was generally detected in genotypes involving alleles with a high number of repeats. Comparing gene frequencies in patients and normal controls, no significant differences were found, although longer alleles are consistently more frequent in patients for the markers MBPB, TH01, and CD4.     

Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum Protects against Cigarette Smoke-Induced Inflammation in Mice

Bifidobacterium are prominent gut commensals that produce the short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) acetate, and they are often used as probiotics. Connections between the gut and the lung, termed the gut–lung axis, are regulated by the microbiome. The gut–lung axis is increasingly implicated in cigarette smoke-induced diseases, and cigarette smoke exposure has been associated with depletion of Bifidobacterium species. In this study, we assessed the impact of acetate-producing Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum (WT) and a mutant strain with an impaired acetate production capacity (MUT) on cigarette smoke-induced inflammation. The mice were treated with WT or MUT B. longum subsp. longum and exposed to cigarette smoke for 8 weeks before assessments of lung inflammation, lung tissue gene expression and cecal SCFAs were performed. Both strains of B. longum subsp. longum reduced lung inflammation, inflammatory cytokine expression and adhesion factor expression and alleviated cigarette smoke-induced depletion in caecum butyrate. Thus, the probiotic administration of B. longum subsp. longum, irrespective of its acetate-producing capacity, alleviated cigarette smoke-induced inflammation and the depletion of cecal butyrate levels.     

Plasma post-oxidation mechanisms of nitrided ferrous alloys

The mechanisms of plasma post-oxidation of plasma nitrided AISI 1045 plain steel were investigated. The influence of plasma post-oxidation temperature and time on the oxide layer thickness, morphology, and composition were addressed. The oxide thickness grows exponentially with temperature, with activation energy of 68 ± 5 kJ mol ^− 1. The time dependence of the oxide layer thickness, on the other hand, is governed by a diffusion-reaction process. It was verified that temperature plays an important role on the morphology of the oxide. Indeed, at the highest temperature, 550 °C, the oxide layer is not homogeneous and has a lower hardness than oxide layers obtained at 480 to 500 °C. The latter seem to be more favorable temperatures to grow compact, homogeneous, and harder oxide layers. The oxide-nitride bi-layer produced here contains a mixture of γ′-Fe₄N and ε-Fe_2-3N and only one iron oxide, Fe₃O₄ (magnetite). The proportions between these phases vary with the plasma processing temperature and time.     

Use of EVA-containing mercapto groups in natural rubber–EVA blends. I. Mechanical,thermal, and morphological properties

The effect of ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) modified with mercaptoacetic acid on mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of blends of natural rubber (NR) and EVA copolymers has been investigated. The introduction of EVASH promotes a crosslinking of natural rubber phase as indicated by extraction experiments and microscopy analysis. This crosslinking may be attributed to bonding between sulfhydryl groups along the EVASH backbone and double bonds in rubber phase and may be responsible for the hardness improvement of most of the studied blends. Better results on hardness and ultimate tensile strength with EVASH addition were achieved for NR–EVA (60 : 40) ratio, probably due to cocontinuous morphology of this composition. The influence of EVASH on crystallinity degree of NR–EVA blends was also studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The morphology of the blends was studied through scanning electronic microscopy. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dimethyl‐2‐[(acridin‐9‐yl)methylidene]‐malonate as fluorescent probe for histochemical analysis

Fluorescent compounds have been widely used for biomolecule labeling in cytochemistry and histochemistry analysis. Here, it is described the optical properties of dimethyl 2‐[(acridin‐9‐yl)methylidene]‐malonate (LPSF/IP‐81), an acridine derivative. This compound was conjugated to Concanavalin A (Con A) lectin and applied as sugar probe in lectin histochemistry. Evaluation of luminescent properties showed that LPSF/IP‐81 is photoluminescent with excitation at 360 nm and emission at 428 nm. Con A hemagglutinating activity and LPSF/IP81 photoluminescence were unaltered after conjugation. Circular dichroism of Con A‐LPSF/IP81 conjugate showed the maintenance of the Con A structure. Lectin histochemistry with Con A‐LPSF/IP81 conjugate demonstrated different pattern recognition studying normal, fibroadenoma, and invasive ductal carcinoma of human breast. These findings indicate that LPSF/IP‐81 can be proposed as an alternative probe for histochemical analysis.