Studies in Carbohydrate Based Glues and Thickeners for Foodstuffs. Part I: Glucose - Sucrose - Apple Pectin Ternary System

Viscosities are given of aqueous solutions of α-D-glucose, sucrose, apple pectin and Arabic gum, as well as of various binary mixtures of these solutions. Aqueous mixtures of α-D-glucose and sucrose exhibit a small increase in viscosity. The addition of apple pectin to the binary mixtures gives solutions of a viscosity of Arabic gum.     

Extrusion-Grafting Starch Onto Vinylic Polymers

The review outlines the rationale behind starch polymer based thermoplastic resin production using reactive extrusion processing techniques, as well as characterization of these polymers.     

Solvent- and Light-Sensitive AIEE-Active Azo Dye: From Spherical to 1D and 2D Assemblies

Fluorescent molecular assembly systems provide an exciting platform for creating stimuli-responsive nano- and microstructured materials with optical, electronic, and sensing functions. To understand the relationship between (i) the plausible molecular structures preferentially adopted depending on the solvent polarity (such as N,N-dimethylformamide [DMF], tetrahydrofuran [THF], and toluene), (ii) the resulting spectroscopic features, and (iii) self-assembled nano-, micro-, and macrostructures, we chose a sterically crowded triangular azo dye (3Bu) composed of a polar molecular core and three peripheral biphenyl wings. The chromophore changed the solution color from yellow to pink-red depending on the solvent polarity. In a yellow DMF solution, a considerable amount of the twisted azo form could be kept stable with the help of favorable intermolecular interactions with the solvent molecules. By varying the concentration of the DMF solution, the morphology of self-assembled structures was transformed from nanoparticles to micrometer-sized one-dimensional (1D) structures such as sticks and fibers. In a pink-red toluene solution, the periphery of the central ring became more planar. The resulting significant amount of the keto-hydrazone tautomer grew into micro- and millimeter-sized 1D structures. Interestingly, when THF-H₂O (1:1) mixtures were stored at a low temperature, elongated fibers were stacked sideways and eventually developed into anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) sheets. Notably, subsequent exposure of visible-light-irradiated sphere samples to solvent vapor resulted in reversible fluorescence off↔on switching accompanied by morphological restoration. These findings suggest that rational selection of organic dyes, solvents, and light is important for developing reusable fluorescent materials.     

Expression of Irisin/FNDC5 in Breast Cancer

Irisin is a myokine formed from fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5), which can be found in various cancer tissues. FNDC5 and irisin levels have been poorly studied in the tumor tissues of breast cancer (BC). The aim of this study was to determine the levels of irisin expression in BC tissues and compare them to clinicopathological factors and Ki-67 and PGC-1α expression levels. Tissue microarrays (TMAs) with 541 BC tissues and 61 samples of non-malignant breast disease (NMBD; control) were used to perform immunohistochemical reactions. FNDC5 gene expression was measured in 40 BC tissue samples, 40 samples from the cancer margin, and 16 NMBD samples. RT-PCR was performed for the detection of FNDC5 gene expression. Higher irisin expression was found in BC patients compared to normal breast tissue. FNDC5/irisin expression was higher in patients without lymph node metastases. Longer overall survival was observed in patients with higher irisin expression levels. FNDC5/irisin expression was increased in BC tissues and its high level was a good prognostic factor for survival in BC patients.     

Chitosan/clay nanocomposite film preparation and characterization

Nanocomposites of chitosan and nanoclays (MMT‐Na⁺ and Cloisite 30B) were prepared by solvent casting. The structural properties, thermal behaviors, and mechanical properties were characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry analyses, and an Instron universal testing machine. XRD and TEM results indicated that an exfoliated structure was formed with addition of small amounts of MMT‐Na⁺ to the chitosan matrix. Intercalation along with some exfoliation occurred with up to 5 wt % MMT‐Na⁺. Micro‐scale composite (tactoids) formed when Cloisite 30B was added to the chitosan matrix. Surface roughness increased with addition of a small amount of clay. Tensile strength of a chitosan film was enhanced and elongation‐at‐break decreased with addition of clay into the chitosan matrix. Melt behavior and thermal stability did not change significantly with addition of clays. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1684–1691, 2006     

Säurekatalysierte Umsetzungen von Aromaten mit Alkanen und Cycloalkanen. IX. Alkylierungen mit 2,2,4-Trimethylpentan (Isooctan)

Acid-catalyzed Reactions of Aromatic Hydrocarbons with Alkanes and Cycloalkanes. IX. Alkylations with 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane (Isooctane) The non-conventional alkylation of benzene, toluene, ethyl- and isopropylbenzene, fluoro- and chlorobenzene with 2,2,4-trimethylpentane in the presence of acid catalysts is described. The composition of the rather complex reaction mixtures is determined by gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, tert. butylarenes being the main products beside alkylsubstituted indanes and tetralines. Their formation is interpreted as a competition between fragmentation and isomerization of the alkylating agent. By use of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid or combinations of catalysts from HF or HSO₃F with variant metallic fluorides at lower temperatures the selectivity of the reaction may be partially raised.     

Electric dipole transitions in Cl-like ions

Theoretical transition energies, wavelengths, and oscillator strengths for E1 transitions from the low-lying $\text{J =}\text{1}\text{2}$, $\text{J =}\text{3}\text{2}$, and $\text{J =}\text{5}\text{2}$ excited states to the $\text{J =}\text{1}\text{2}$ and $\text{J =}\text{3}\text{2}$ ground states are presented for ten ions isoelectronic with the chlorine atom. The multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock technique is used to generate the wave functions and obtain the energy levels. The effect of some correlation with 3d orbitals is noted. The relativistic forms of the electric-dipole operator are used to obtain values of oscillator strength corresponding to the nonrelativistic length and velocity forms.     

A privacy-preserving distributed transfer learning in activity recognition

Telecommunication Systems - Along with the widespread use of smartphones, activity recognition using embedded inertial sensors has intrigued researchers. The learning and employing activity...     

Grindability of some additions and its significance in the production of mixed cements

Grinding tests were conducted in a laboratory steel ball mill, to investigate the grind-ability of some natural and artificial materials as “additions” for incorporation in Portland cement. Strength tests were performed on mixed cements composed of 71% Portland cement clinker, 25% addition and 4% gypsum. In one series of experiments, the components of the mixed cement were separately ground and in another one they were simultaneously ground. It was found from surface production curves and from compressive strength data that when materials which are harder to grind than clinker such as sand are interground with clinker, the resulting cement develops higher early strength than a corresponding cement in which the pozzolanic addition is softer than clinker. For materials which are softer to grind than clinker, separate grinding of the cement components is better than combined grinding, particularly for the development of early strength.