Crystallization of an amorphous silicon nitride powder produced in a radiofrequency thermal plasma

Crystallization behavior of an amorphous silicon nitride powder produced in an RF thermal plasma by the vapor-phase reaction of silicon tetrachloride and ammonia has been investigated. Effects of annealing conditions such as temperature and duration of heat treatment on the properties of powders were studied. Changes in the chemical and phase compositions, as well as in the morphology of powders were measured and interpreted. Annealing of the amorphous silicon nitride powder at 1450°C for 120 min resulted in a powder of about 80% crystalline phase content with an /β ratio of about 6.5. ©     

Inhibition of influenza virus infection by multivalent sialic-acid-functionalized gold nanoparticles

An efficient synthesis of sialic-acid-terminated glycerol dendron to chemically functionalize 2 nm and 14 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is described. These nanoparticles are highly stable and show high activity towards the inhibition of influenza virus infection. As the binding of the viral fusion protein hemagglutinin to the host cell surface is mediated by sialic acid receptors, a multivalent interaction with sialic-acid-functionalized AuNPs is expected to competitively inhibit viral infection. Electron microscopy techniques and biochemical analysis show a high binding affinity of the 14 nm AuNPs to hemagglutinin on the virus surface and, less efficiently, to isolated hemagglutinin. The functionalized AuNPs are nontoxic to the cells under the conditions studied. This approach allows a new type of molecular-imaging activity-correlation and is of particular relevance for further application in alternative antiviral therapy.     

Nanoparticle probes and mid-infrared chemical imaging for DNA microarray detection

To date most mid-infrared spectroscopic studies have been limited, due to lack of sensitivity, to the structural characterization of a single oligonucleotide probe immobilized over the entire surface of a gold-coated slide or other infrared substrate. By contrast, widely used and commercially available glass slides and a microarray spotter that prints approximately 120-μm-diameter DNA spots were employed in the present work. To our knowledge, mid-infrared chemical imaging (IRCI) in the external reflection mode has been applied in the present study for the first time to the detection of nanostructure-based DNA microarrays spotted on glass slides. Alkyl amine-modified oligonucleotide probes were immobilized on glass slides that had been prefunctionalized with succinimidyl ester groups. This molecular fluorophore-free method entailed the binding of gold-nanoparticle-streptavidin conjugates to biotinylated DNA targets. Hybridization was visualized by the silver enhancement of gold nanoparticles. The adlayer of silver, selectively bound only to hybridized spots in a microarray, formed the external reflective infrared substrate that was necessary for the detection of DNA hybridization by IRCI in the present proof-of-concept study. IRCI made it possible to discriminate between diffuse and specular external reflection modes. The promising qualitative results are presented herein, and the implications for quantitative determination of DNA microarrays are discussed.     

What is moral about guilt? Acting “prosocially” at the disadvantage of others.

For centuries economists and psychologists have argued that the morality of moral emotions lies in the fact that they stimulate prosocial behavior and benefit others in a person's social environment. Many studies have shown that guilt, arguably the most exemplary moral emotion, indeed motivates prosocial behavior in dyadic social dilemma situations. When multiple persons are involved, however, the moral and prosocial nature of this emotion can be questioned. The present article shows how guilt can have beneficial effects for the victim of one's actions but also disadvantageous effects for other people in the social environment. A series of experiments, with various emotion inductions and dependent measures, all reveal that guilt motivates prosocial behavior toward the victim at the expense of others around—but not at the expense of oneself. These findings illustrate that a thorough understanding of the functioning of emotions is necessary to understand their moral nature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Properties of sucrose-free chocolates enriched with viable lactic acid bacteria

Chocolate formulated with isomalt and enriched with lactic acid bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus MK-10 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus 151, added in the form of powdered yoghurt, prepared by spray-drying is a sucrose-free, low-calorie product with functional properties. The technique of the production of chocolate sweetened with isomalt and containing live cells of the aforementioned bacterial strains has been established. Physicochemical and sensory properties of this product as well as survival of cells during 6-months storage at 4 and 18 °C have been determined. The isomalt-containing yoghurt chocolates displayed satisfactory sensory attributes. Their calorific value and consistency (hardness) were similar to those of control sucrose-free chocolates. The total acidity of yoghurt and standard milk chocolates was also similar, whereas yoghurt-containing dark chocolates displayed higher acidity. The characteristics of yoghurt-containing chocolates were a relatively low solid substance content (96.82–96.91% w/w), low Casson viscosity and yield value for milk chocolate masses, and enhanced rheological parameters for dark chocolate masses compared with control sucrose-free chocolates. Because the total number of lactic acid bacteria after 6-months storage at 4 and 18 °C was high (approximately 10⁷ cfu/g), the sucrose-free yoghurt-containing chocolates can be regarded as functional foods.     

What We Want Is in That Room

Ilona Gaynor and Benedict Singleton , founding partners of design and research studio The Department of No, look beyond the specific technological possibilities of acute accuracy and explore the principle of zero tolerance as an aesthetic of precision. How is such an aesthetic at work when an architectural strategy places a heightened emphasis on the exact placement of objects in space and time? Could the precision in which a single spatial intervention is pursued have more fundamental and far-reaching consequences than we ever imagined?     

Nanoconfinement-Induced Structures in Chiral Liquid Crystals

We employ Monte Carlo simulations in a specialized isothermal-isobaric and in the grand canonical ensemble to study structure formation in chiral liquid crystals as a function of molecular chirality. Our model potential consists of a simple Lennard-Jones potential, where the attractive contribution has been modified to represent the orientation dependence of the interaction between a pair of chiral liquid-crystal molecules. The liquid crystal is confined between a pair of planar and atomically smooth substrates onto which molecules are anchored in a hybrid fashion. Hybrid anchoring allows for the formation of helical structures in the direction perpendicular to the substrate plane without exposing the helix to spurious strains. At low chirality, we observe a cholesteric phase, which is transformed into a blue phase at higher chirality. More specifically, by studying the unit cell and the spatial arrangement of disclination lines, this blue phase can be established as blue phase II. If the distance between the confining substrates and molecular chirality are chosen properly, we see a third structure, which may be thought of as a hybrid, exhibiting mixed features of a cholesteric and a blue phase.     

Impact of Porcine Pancreas Decellularization Conditions on the Quality of Obtained dECM

Due to the limited number of organ donors, 3D printing of organs is a promising technique. Tissue engineering is increasingly using xenogeneic material for this purpose. This study was aimed at assessing the safety of decellularized porcine pancreas, together with the analysis of the risk of an undesirable immune response. We tested eight variants of the decellularization process. We determined the following impacts: rinsing agents (PBS/NH₃·H₂O), temperature conditions (4 °C/24 °C), and the grinding method of native material (ground/cut). To assess the quality of the extracellular matrix after the completed decellularization process, analyses of the following were performed: DNA concentration, fat content, microscopic evaluation, proteolysis, material cytotoxicity, and most importantly, the Triton X-100 content. Our analyses showed that we obtained a product with an extremely low detergent content with negligible residual DNA content. The obtained results confirmed the performed histological and immuno-fluorescence staining. Moreover, the TEM microscopic analysis proved that the correct collagen structure was preserved after the decellularization process. Based on the obtained results, we chose the most favorable variant in terms of quality and biology. The method we chose is an effective and safe method that gives a chance for the development of transplant and regenerative medicine.     

Building-integrated PV installations in the Netherlands: Examples and operational experiences

Building-integrated PV started receiving attention in the Netherlands around 1990. Attention has ever since been focusing on the integration of PV into new dwellings. Efforts have resulted in cost reductions, performance improvements, the development of new integration products and the creation of a network with utilities, property developers, architects, building companies and local authorities. PV system costs have been reduced by one third, to 5 Euro in 2000. System performance has gone up slightly during the reporting period, further reducing the costs per unit energy produced. Inverter costs have gone down from 1.5 Euro/Wp in 1991 to 0.5 Euro/Wp in 2000. Concerning integration into buildings and the building process, the Netherlands PV programme has been concentrating on developing products for low-cost integration into sloped roofs of new buildings. Watertight profile systems have been developed, tested, and applied in projects on a growing scale. The costs for building integration have come down due to improvements in integration systems, the electric system and in installation procedures. Projects have also been carried out on an increasing scale to learn about the integration of PV into the building process. In total, a capacity of more than 8 MW was installed by the end of the year 1999, with projects ranging from individual dwellings and offices to solar cities such as the Nieuw Sloten project in Amsterdam (250 kWp) and Nieuwland in Amersfoort (1 MW). Now, at the turn of the century, plans are being derived to give PV the ‘boost’ to become commercially viable within the next 7 to 10 years. For this, an ambitious goal is being formulated by government together with the PV industry, utilities, the building sector and others involved in PV in the Netherlands. Already in the mid-1990s, the long-term energy programme of the ministry of Economic Affairs set the target at an installed PV capacity of 250 MWp by the year 2010. In order to achieve a commercially viable market within the next 7 to 10 years, however, a goal of 500 MWp installed PV capacity would be required. Recent research shows that such a target is ambitious, but achievable if supported by dedicated government programmes, investments by industry and contributions of the building and utility sector.     

Corrosion protection properties of hydroxamic acid self-assembled monolayer on carbon steel

Self assembled monolayers (SAMs) of hydroxamic acids CH₃(CH₂)_nCONHOH with different alkyl length were formed on the carbon steel electrode surface. The corrosion protection properties of the monolayers were examined and characterized by electrochemical polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurements. XPS results showed that the hydroxamic acid molecules adsorbed on the carbon steel surface, and the contact angle values on the modified surface supported the formation of hydrophobic hydroxamic acid SAMs. The results of electrochemical studies showed that the values of the corrosion potential shift towards the positive direction, and anodic currents of the carbon steel dissolution significantly decreases, indicating that hydroxamic acids are anodic inhibitors. However, the chain length and assembling time influence the protection efficiency.