Characterisation of enzymatically oxidised lignosulfonates and their application on lignocellulosic fabrics

BACKGROUND: The ‘double function’ of laccase, from the ascomycete Myceliophthora, to depolymerise/polymerise lignin was studied in this work. A lignosulfonate (LS) compound was oxidised by enzymatic action and several techniques were applied to measure the polymeric changes obtained. This study was focused on the attachment level of the oxidised LS at the flax surface. RESULTS: Modified solutions were studied in terms of surface charge. Zeta potential values obtained showed an increase of polymerisation after several days of incubation. The change in molecular weight after LS polymerisation was detected using gel permeation chromatography. An increase of 1700 Da was achieved. Fourier transform infrared and UV‐visible spectroscopy techniques were applied and the results showed an increase of the degree of polymerisation. The colour strength of flax fabrics incubated with oxidised LS solutions was also measured and an increase of K/S (K, absorption coefficient; S, scattering coefficient) after enzymatic oxidation was observed. CONCLUSION: The oxidised lignin products obtained show good potential for use in natural surface modification of textile materials containing flavonoids. These findings have important practical implications for lignocellulosic fibre coloration, where new polymers can replace harsh chemicals in the textile industry. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Engineering of a Biomimetic Interface between a Native Dental Tissue and Restorative Composite and Its Study Using Synchrotron FTIR Microscopic Mapping

The aim of this work is to develop a biomimetic interface between the natural tooth tissue and the restorative composite and to study it on the basis of synchrotron micro-FTIR mapping and multidimensional processing of the spectral data array. Using hierarchical cluster analysis of 3D FTIR data revealed marked improvements in the formation of the dentine/adhesive/dental hybrid interface using a biomimetic approach. The use of a biomimetic strategy (application of an amino acid–modified primer, alkaline calcium and a nano-c-HAp–modified adhesive) allowed the formation of a matrix that can be structurally integrated with natural dentine and dental composite. The biomimetic hybrid layer was characterised by homogeneous chemical composition and a higher degree of conversion of the adhesive during polymerisation, which should provide optimal integration of the dental composite with the dentine.     

Effect of Salt Stress on the Expression and Promoter Methylation of the Genes Encoding the Mitochondrial and Cytosolic Forms of Aconitase and Fumarase in Maize

The influence of salt stress on gene expression, promoter methylation, and enzymatic activity of the mitochondrial and cytosolic forms of aconitase and fumarase has been investigated in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings. The incubation of maize seedlings in 150-mM NaCl solution resulted in a several-fold increase of the mitochondrial activities of aconitase and fumarase that peaked at 6 h of NaCl treatment, while the cytosolic activity of aconitase and fumarase decreased. This corresponded to the decrease in promoter methylation of the genes Aco1 and Fum1 encoding the mitochondrial forms of these enzymes and the increase in promoter methylation of the genes Aco2 and Fum2 encoding the cytosolic forms. The pattern of expression of the genes encoding the mitochondrial forms of aconitase and fumarase corresponded to the profile of the increase of the stress marker gene ZmCOI6.1. It is concluded that the mitochondrial and cytosolic forms of aconitase and fumarase are regulated via the epigenetic mechanism of promoter methylation of their genes in the opposite ways in response to salt stress. The role of the mitochondrial isoforms of aconitase and fumarase in the elevation of respiration under salt stress is discussed.     

Study of self-stratifying compositions

Paint applied as a single layer, and its spontaneous separation to form a primer and a top coat, is one of the newest concepts of the effective and economical application of two layers in one step. The influence of the molecular weight of epoxy oligomer and acrylic polymer and their ratio on self-stratification was investigated. The degree of stratification depending on molecular weight and their mutual ratio was determined using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, microscopy techniques, adhesion tests, and surface tension measurements. Phase separation and self-stratification of two-component homogenous mixtures were followed using FTIR technique and surface tension measurements. As a result of these investigations, optimal oligomeric/polymeric composition was selected. The obtained coating system showed good mechanical properties, gloss, and interlayer adhesion.     

Depression in Parkinson's disease is not accompanied by more corticotropin-releasing hormone expressing neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus

BACKGROUND: Depression is frequently encountered in Parkinson's disease (PD). In addition, more than half of the PD patients have a disturbed dexamethasone suppression test, which is associated with increased activity of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons. We recently found an increase in CRH neuron number, CRH-messenger RNA, and vasopressin colocalization in CRH neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of depressed patients, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of depression. METHODS: The number of neurons expressing CRH was determined in the PVN of 6 depressed PD patients with a high score (> or = 13) on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, 6 nondepressed PD patients, and 6 controls. RESULTS: The three groups did not differ in the number of neurons expressing CRH. CONCLUSIONS: We hypothesize that activation of CRH neurons in the PVN, as we recently observed in idiopathic depression, does not play an essential role in depression in PD.     

Selective Sampling for Nearest Neighbor Classifiers

Most existing inductive learning algorithms work under the assumption that their training examples are already tagged. There are domains, however, where the tagging procedure requires significant computation resources or manual labor. In such cases, it may be beneficial for the learner to be active, intelligently selecting the examples for labeling with the goal of reducing the labeling cost. In this paper we present LSS—a lookahead algorithm for selective sampling of examples for nearest neighbor classifiers. The algorithm is looking for the example with the highest utility, taking its effect on the resulting classifier into account. Computing the expected utility of an example requires estimating the probability of its possible labels. We propose to use the random field model for this estimation. The LSS algorithm was evaluated empirically on seven real and artificial data sets, and its performance was compared to other selective sampling algorithms. The experiments show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other methods in terms of average error rate and stability.     

THE PROTECTION OF ALLOYS AGAINST HIGH TEMPERATURE SULPHIDATION BY SiO2-COATINGS DEPOSITED BY MOCVD

Silica coatings have been deposited on various alloys by MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) to protect them against high temperature corrosion in coal gasification environments. DiAcetoxyDitertiaryButoxySilane (DADBS) has been used as a metal organic precursor at deposition temperatures between 773 - 873 °K and amorphous layers were produced with a growth rate of about 1 μm. h^-1. These coatings have been tested at 823°K in a sulphiclizing atmosphere with a low oxygen (9.3 × 10 ^-29 bar) and a high sulphur partial pressure (1.2 × 10 bar). In this environment the sulphidation resistance of various alloys has improved by a factor of at least 100 by the coating. The observed corrosion reaction is local and is explained by a model in which in the first stage cracks are formed due to mechanical stresses in the coating. In the second stage metal sulphides are formed by outward diffusion of metal and inward diffusion of sulphur through the cracks. When stainless steels are used as the alloy the outer layer consists of FeS and the lower one of CrS.     

Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Ethyl Benzoylformate,from Mechanism and Kinetics to Continuous Reactor Technology

The enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl benzoylformate over (?)-cinchonidine (CD)-modified Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst in semi-batch and continuous fixed bed reactors was studied as a function of the modifier concentration and reaction temperature. The kinetic results from the semibatch reactor showed a higher enantioselectivity and lower initial rate as the amount of modifier was increased. The results from the fixed bed reactor demonstrates that continuous enantioselective hydrogenation is possible and that continuous feeding of (?)-CD is needed to maintain a high steady-state enantioselectivity.     

Super‐Resolution Nonlinear Photothermal Microscopy

Super‐resolution fluorescence microscopy enables imaging of fluorescent structures beyond the diffraction limit. However, this technique cannot be applied to weakly fluorescent cellular components or labels. As an alternative, photothermal microscopy based on nonradiative transformation of absorbed energy into heat has demonstrated imaging of nonfluorescent structures including single molecules and ~1‐nm gold nanoparticles. However, previously photothermal imaging has been performed with a diffraction‐limited resolution only. Herein, super‐resolution, far‐field photothermal microscopy based on nonlinear signal dependence on the laser energy is introduced. Among various nonlinear phenomena, including absorption saturation, multiphoton absorption, and signal temperature dependence, signal amplification by laser‐induced nanobubbles around overheated nano‐objects is explored. A Gaussian laser beam profile is used to demonstrate the image spatial sharpening for calibrated 260‐nm metal strips, resolving of a plasmonic nanoassembly, visualization of 10‐nm gold nanoparticles in graphene, and hemoglobin nanoclusters in live erythrocytes with resolution down to 50 nm. These nonlinear phenomena can be used for 3D imaging with improved lateral and axial resolution in most photothermal methods, including photoacoustic microscopy.