Assessment of microalgae viability employing insulator-based dielectrophoresis

Microscale bioparticle analysis has advanced significantly providing advantages over bench-scale studies such as the use of a reduced amount of sample and reagents, higher sensitivity, faster response, and portability. Insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) is a microscale technique where particles are driven by polarization effects under a non-uniform electrical field created by the inclusion of insulators between two electrodes. iDEP possesses attractive advantages over traditional electrode-based dielectrophoresis since there is no electrode degradation and manufacture of the device is simpler and economical. This novel and powerful technique has been applied successfully in the manipulation of macromolecules and cells. In this study, differences in dielectric properties (cell membrane conductivity) of viable and non-viable microalgae, Selenastrum capricornutum, were employed to concentrate and separate a mixture of live and dead cells. A microchannel, manufactured in glass and containing an array of cylindrical insulating posts, was employed to dielectrophoretically immobilize and concentrate the mixture of cells employing direct current electric fields. Experiments showed that live cells exhibited a stronger dielectrophoretic response than dead cells, which allowed cell differentiation. Separation and enrichment of viable and non-viable microalgae was achieved in 35 s with a concentration yield of 10.36 and 15.87 times the initial cell concentration, respectively. These results demonstrate the use of iDEP as a technique for rapid assessment of microalgae viability; unveiling the potential of this powerful technique for environmental applications on lab-on-a-chip platforms.     

Superficial magnetic imaging by an xy-scanner of three magnetoresistive channels

A scanning system developed for planar magnetic surfaces composed of a moving line of three magnetoresistive ultrasensitive transducers, complemented by a signal conditioning circuit is presented. After the calibration of the sensors, it was used to determine magnetized surface images with different shapes to evaluate the sensitivity of the device, and the images are represented in gray levels on a scale from 0 to 255 intensities, to get a visual representation of the magnetic field strength. The device is shown to be sensitive enough to detect gradients homogeneities and discontinuities in the magnetic field maps and images of magnetic susceptibility.     

Mild Effects of Sunscreen Agents on a Marine Flatfish: Oxidative Stress,Energetic Profiles,Neurotoxicity and Behaviour in Response to Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Oxybenzone

UV filters are potentially harmful to marine organisms. Given their worldwide dissemination and the scarcity of studies on marine fish, we evaluated the toxicity of an organic (oxybenzone) and an inorganic (titanium dioxide nanoparticles) UV filter, individually and in a binary mixture, in the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). Fish were intraperitoneally injected and a multi-level assessment was carried out 3 and 7 days later. Oxybenzone and titanium dioxide nanoparticles induced mild effects on turbot, both isolated and in mixture. Neither oxidative stress (intestine, liver and kidney) nor neurotoxicity (brain) was found. However, liver metabolic function was altered after 7 days, suggesting the impairment of the aerobic metabolism. An increased motility rate in oxybenzone treatment was the only behavioural alteration (day 7). The intestine and liver were preferentially targeted, while kidney and brain were unaffected. Both infra- and supra-additive interactions were perceived, with a toxicodynamic nature, resulting either in favourable or unfavourable toxicological outcomes, which were markedly dependent on the organ, parameter and post-injection time. The combined exposure to the UV filters did not show a consistent increment in toxicity in comparison with the isolated exposures, which is an ecologically relevant finding providing key information towards the formulation of environmentally safe sunscreen products.     

A Role Based Model for the Normative Specification of Organized Collective Agency and Agents Interaction

In this article we propose a role based model for the specification of organized collective agency, based on the legal concept of artificial person and on the normative perspective of organizational systems. We focus on the analysis of groups of agents (humans or not) that want to act collectively in a (more or less) permanent basis, and in a stable and organized way, as it is the typical case of organizations. We argue that in those cases such groups of agents should give rise to a new agent, that we call of institutionalized agent, with its own identity, whose structure is essentially defined through the characterization of a set of roles and whose behavior is determined by the acts of the agents that play such roles. We also present a deontic and action modal logic that captures the concept of acting in a role and relates it with the deontic notions of obligation, permission and prohibition. This logic is used in the formal specification of institutionalized agents and of societies of agents and in the rigorous analysis of them. We pay particular attention to the interaction between agents through contracts or other normative relations. A high level specification language is also suggested.     

On the power of fuzzy logic

In this article we address the issues brought up by Elkan in his article, “The paradoxical success of fuzzy logic,” [IEEE Expert, 3–8 (1994)]. Elkan's work has caused concern since it purportedly reveals a Fuzzy Logic weakness regarding its theoretical foundations. A further investigation of Elkan's theorem (“Theorem 1”) revealed that its conclusion is not correct. After indicating the points where we disagree with Elkan, we reformulate Theorem 1, calling this new version “Theorem 2.” Theorems 1 and 2 have the same hypotheses but different conclusions. According to Theorem 2 there is a region of points that do hold the equivalence in the hypotheses of Theorem 1. In other words, one does not need to change the definition of logical equivalence in Theorem 1 in order to prove that Fuzzy Logic does not collapse to a two-valued logic. In a further analysis of Theorem 2 we show that Elkan's work does not affect the power of Fuzzy Logic to model vagueness. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Thermal Effects During the Absorption of CO2 in Aqueous Solutions of 3‐Amino‐1‐Propanol

In this work, we study the process of CO₂ absorption, at high partial pressures, in aqueous solutions of 3‐amino‐1‐propanol (AP), with respect to the thermal effects of this operation. All of the experiments were performed in a stirred tank gas‐liquid reactor with a flat, known interface. The variables considered were the AP concentration in the range of 0.1 to 3.0 M and the temperature within the interval of 288–313 K. From the results, we deduce that the process takes place in the instantaneous nonisothermal regime, and we propose an equation which relates the experimental results of molar flux with the initial amine concentration. At the same time, we can evaluate the temperature increase at the gas‐liquid interface.     

Simultaneous Quantitation of FFA,MAG, DAG,and TAG in Enzymatically Modified Vegetable Oils and Fats

A novel and easy-to-implement high temperature gas chromatographic procedure for the simultaneous quantitation of free fatty acids (FFA), monoacylglycerols (MAG), diacylglycerols (DAG), and triacylglycerols (TAG) for products arising from fats and oils modification processes has been developed. The method involves silylation in the presence of pyridine at room temperature, standard injection system, and FID detection. Species were separated by carbon number and degree of unsaturation; thus, a total of 53 individual compounds could be quantified. An identification plot for unavailable triacylglycerol standard species relating relative retention time with the number of double bonds was built. Calibration curves for the quantitation of by-products (FFA, MAG, and DAG) and a calibration surface for TAG were constructed using standard solutions. Multiple internal standards were used, achieving good repeatability. The method was tested over a wide range of fatty acid unsaturation level (0 to 3 double bonds) and chain length (C14 to C18). The results achieved in real samples were in agreement with those obtained by fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) analysis and HPLC-RI. The method developed is a rapid and reliable technique to quantify FFA, MAG, DAG, and TAG in substrates and products of modification, ideal to monitor the degree of conversion in fats and oils enzymatic esterification, among others.     

Nanostructure and crystallisation kinetics of poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(4-vinylphenol-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) blends

Blends of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(4-vinylphenol-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PVPh-HEM) were studied by means of synchrotron small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS, respectively) and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The DSC measurements were used in the determination of the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter and also to study the isothermal and non-isothermal crystallisation kinetics of the PEO/PVPh-HEM blend. The interaction parameter, χ₁₂, was found to be negative (between −0.5 and −2.5, approximately) and presented a significant dependence on the blend composition, which is expected for a system with specific interactions such as hydrogen bonding. From the kinetic studies with Kissinger, Friedman and Avrami models, it was shown that crystallisation of PEO chains is slower in the blend than in the pure polymer, despite the decrease in the energy barrier to the crystallisation with the increase in PVPh-HEM concentration.

From the SAXS and WAXS profiles, the nanostructure of the blend was elucidated, exhibiting the formation of PEO lamellae even in the blends containing high concentrations of PVPh-HEM, which are non-crystalline (as observed by the WAXS profiles). The thickness of the PEO lamellae (R_c, approximately 8 nm) remains almost unchanged with the blend composition, while the crystalline peaks, observed at 19.78 and 23.98°, vanish, and the WAXS profile exhibits only a non-crystalline halo. For the non-crystalline blends with high concentrations of PVPh-HEM, PEO chains keep their crystalline structural memory.     

Preparation of Ti/Pt/SnO2–Sb2O4 electrodes for anodic oxidation of pharmaceutical drugs

Ti/Pt/SnO₂–Sb₂O₄ electrodes were prepared by alternating Sn and Sb electrodepositions, repeated 4 or 16 times, onto a platinized titanium foil by a thermo-electrochemical method. Chemical, electrochemical, and structural tests have been used for the characterization of Ti/Pt/SnO₂–Sb₂O₄ electrodes. Anodic oxidation of the aqueous solution contaminated by amoxicillin, clofibric acid, diclofenac, and ibuprofen having a concentration of 100 mg L^?1 and 0.035 M of Na₂SO₄ have been applied using Ti/Pt/SnO₂–Sb₂O₄ electrodes at a current density of 10 and 30 mA cm^?2. The chemical oxygen demand removals increased with current density and except for diclofenac, the Ti/Pt/SnO₂–Sb₂O₄ electrode with 4 electrodeposition repetitions gave the best results. The combustion efficiencies for diclofenac and ibuprofen were higher than those obtained with similar electrode material, prepared without platinization, especially in the assay run with Ti/Pt/SnO₂–Sb₂O₄ (16 electrodeposition repetitions).     

Cone-like graphene nanostructures: electronic and optical properties

A theoretical study of electronic and optical properties of graphene nanodisks and nanocones is presented within the framework of a tight-binding scheme. The electronic densities of states and absorption coefficients are calculated for such structures with different sizes and topologies. A discrete position approximation is used to describe the electronic states taking into account the effect of the overlap integral to first order. For small finite systems, both total and local densities of states depend sensitively on the number of atoms and characteristic geometry of the structures. Results for the local densities of charge reveal a finite charge distribution around some atoms at the apices and borders of the cone structures. For structures with more than 5,000 atoms, the contribution to the total density of states near the Fermi level essentially comes from states localized at the edges. For other energies, the average density of states exhibits similar features to the case of a graphene lattice. Results for the absorption spectra of nanocones show a peculiar dependence on the photon polarization in the infrared range for all investigated structures.