Assessment of carbon dioxide solubility coefficients for semihard cheeses: the effect of temperature and fat content

The carbon dioxide solubility properties of semi hard cheeses were studied as a function of temperature (0–20 °C) and fat content (10–45% fat on dry basis). Carbon dioxide is found to be highly soluble in semi hard cheeses and through an understanding of the solubility in terms of both an aqueous- and a fat phase, it is shown that both phases are of equal importance in terms of carbon dioxide solubility. Carbon dioxide solubility in the water phase decreases with increasing temperature, whereas carbon dioxide solubility in the fat phase increases with increasing temperature, resulting in smaller temperature variation for cheeses with high fat content due to a compensating effect. A linear relationship is demonstrated between the concentration of solubilised carbon dioxide in cheese and the partial pressure of headspace carbon dioxide and solubility coefficients, K _S(T), analogous to Henry’s law constants are derived.     

Differential Expression of Peroxisomal Proteins in Distinct Types of Parotid Gland Tumors

Salivary gland cancers are rare but aggressive tumors that have poor prognosis and lack effective cure. Of those, parotid tumors constitute the majority. Functioning as metabolic machinery contributing to cellular redox balance, peroxisomes have emerged as crucial players in tumorigenesis. Studies on murine and human cells have examined the role of peroxisomes in carcinogenesis with conflicting results. These studies either examined the consequences of altered peroxisomal proliferators or compared their expression in healthy and neoplastic tissues. None, however, examined such differences exclusively in human parotid tissue or extended comparison to peroxisomal proteins and their associated gene expressions. Therefore, we examined differences in peroxisomal dynamics in parotid tumors of different morphologies. Using immunofluorescence and quantitative PCR, we compared the expression levels of key peroxisomal enzymes and proliferators in healthy and neoplastic parotid tissue samples. Three parotid tumor subtypes were examined: pleomorphic adenoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma and acinic cell carcinoma. We observed higher expression of peroxisomal matrix proteins in neoplastic samples with exceptional down regulation of certain enzymes; however, the degree of expression varied between tumor subtypes. Our findings confirm previous experimental results on other organ tissues and suggest peroxisomes as possible therapeutic targets or markers in all or certain subtypes of parotid neoplasms.     

Tetrolet transform: A new adaptive Haar wavelet algorithm for sparse image representation

In order to get an efficient image representation we introduce a new adaptive Haar wavelet transform, called Tetrolet Transform. Tetrolets are Haar-type wavelets whose supports are tetrominoes which are shapes made by connecting four equal-sized squares. The corresponding fast filter bank algorithm is simple but very effective. In every level of the filter bank algorithm we divide the low-pass image into 4 × 4 blocks. Then in each block we determine a local tetrolet basis which is adapted to the image geometry in this block. An analysis of the adaptivity costs leads to modified versions of our method. Numerical results show the strong efficiency of the tetrolet transform for image approximation.     

Fabrication,Optical Modeling,and Color Characterization of Semitransparent Bulk‐Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells in an Inverted Structure

Semitransparent inverted organic photodiodes are fabricated with a Baytron PH500 ethylene‐glycol layer/silver grid as the top electrode. Reasonable performances are obtained under both rear‐ and front‐side illumination and efficiencies up to 2% are achieved. Some light is shed on visual prospects through optical simulations for a semitransparent device of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and the C60 derivative 1‐(3‐methoxycarbonyl)propyl‐1‐phenyl[6,6]C₇₁ (PC70BM) in the inverted structure. These calculations allow the maximum efficiency achievable to be predicted for semitransparent cells based on P3HT:PC70BM versus the transparency perception for a human eye. The simulations suggest that low‐bandgap materials such as poly[2,6‐(4,4‐bis‐(2‐ethylhexyl)‐4H‐cyclopenta[2,1‐b;3,4‐b′]dithiophene)‐alt‐4,7‐(2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole)] (PCPDTBT) have a better potential for semitransparent devices. In addition, the color range recognized by the human eye is predicted by the optical simulation for some semitransparent devices including different active layers.     

Imaging Catastrophic Optical Mirror Damage in High-Power Diode Lasers

We image catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD) in red- and infrared-emitting high-power broad-area diode lasers by combining highly COMD-selective thermography, near-field imaging, scanning electron microscopy, and cathodoluminescence. All techniques exhibit strong correlations in terms of COMD location and strength and allow for an unambiguous decision about COMD occurrence. In particular, temperatures en route to and during COMD are measured, and the concept of a critical facet temperature that induces thermal runaway is supported.     

Oxygen incorporation in M2AlC (M = Ti,V, Cr)

Oxygen incorporation in the MAX phases Ti₂AlC, V₂AlC and Cr₂AlC was studied by ab initio calculations. Comparing the calculated energies for oxygen incorporation indicates that oxygen substitutes for carbon in Ti₂AlC and V₂AlC, but is incorporated interstitially in the Al layer of Cr₂AlC, even for carbon-deficient Cr₂AlC. To evaluate these predictions, combinatorial d.c. sputtering was used to deposit thin films with different oxygen concentrations. Two phase regions of Cr₂AlC and Cr₂Al were investigated in order to study oxygen incorporation in carbon-deficient Cr₂AlC. X-ray strain analysis data indicate that the a and c lattice parameters increase with oxygen content. These trends are in good agreement with the change in lattice parameters predicted by ab initio calculations and therefore corroborate the notion of interstitial oxygen incorporation in Cr₂AlC. A metastable solubility limit for oxygen of 3.5 at.% was determined experimentally. This is the first report on interstitial oxygen in a MAX phase and may be of relevance during the initial stages of oxidation.     

Textured dense zinc oxide layers for active noise canceling windows

Dense ZnO films with a strong c-axis texture have been deposited on transparent conductive oxide glass, glass, and Si wafers, respectively, with a two-step pressureless wet chemical method using zinc acetate dihydrate as Zn-precursor. The crystallographic structure of the films has been studied with XRD and scanning electron microscopy. Optical measurements reveal a high transparency of the ZnO films with a thickness of up to 10 μm. This new cost-effective route for ZnO film deposition does not require expensive sophisticated equipment and is easily upscaled.     

High surface area SiC(O)-based ceramic by pyrolysis of poly (ethylene glycol) methacrylate-modified polycarbosilane

In the present work, a high surface area SiC(O)-based ceramic powder was synthesized upon thermal transformation of a polymer-derived macromolecular precursor, which was obtained by the chemical modification of a allylhyldrido polycarbosilane with poly(ethylene glycol) methaacrylate under argon environment. The pyrolysis of developed precursor led to the formation of amorphous and high surface area SiC(O)-based ceramic powder with in situ generated micro/meso-porosity. The specific surface area of the obtained powders depends on the processing temperature. It decreases from 363 to 122 m²/g as the pyrolysis temperature increases from 600 to 1200°C, respectively. Furthermore the promising samples were fabricated using pressing technique, which led to crack-free SiC(O) monoliths on subsquent heat treatment. The present study also emphasizes the potential of produced SiC(O) ceramic powder to support NiO catalyst. The impregnation method were used to produce high surface area NiO@SiC(O) ceramic powder (NiO as a catalyst; SiC(O) as a catalyst support) for further catalytic applications. Interestingly, the distribution of the NiO was shown to strongly depend on the oxygen content present in the SiC(O) matrix. Thus, larger oxygen contents induce homogeneously distributed flower-like NiO catalyst onto SiC(O).