The effects of washing a collagen sample prior to TEM examination

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an important analysis technique to visualize (bio)macromolecules and their assemblies, including collagen fibers. Many protocols for TEM sample preparation of collagen involve one or more washing steps to remove excess salts from the dispersion that could hamper analysis when dried on a TEM grid. Such protocols are not standardized and washing times as well as washing solvents vary from procedure to procedure, with each research group typically having their own protocol. Here, we investigate the influence of washing with water, ethanol, but also methanol and 2-propanol, for both mineralized and unmineralized collagen samples via a protocol based on centrifugation. Washing with water maintains the hydrated collagen structure and the characteristic banding pattern can be clearly observed. Conversely, washing with ethanol results in dehydration of the fibrils, often leading to aggregation of the fibers and a less obvious banding pattern, already within 1 min of ethanol exposure. As we show, this process is fully reversible. Similar observations were made for methanol and propanol. Based on these results, a standardized washing protocol for collagenous samples is proposed.     

Designing optical glasses by machine learning coupled with a genetic algorithm

Engineering new glass compositions have experienced a sturdy tendency to move forward from (educated) trial-and-error to data- and simulation-driven strategies. In this work, we developed a computer program that combines data-driven predictive models (in this case, neural networks) with a genetic algorithm to design glass compositions with desired combinations of properties. First, we induced predictive models for the glass transition temperature (T_g) using a dataset of 45,302 compositions with 39 different chemical elements, and for the refractive index (n_d) using a dataset of 41,225 compositions with 38 different chemical elements. Then, we searched for relevant glass compositions using a genetic algorithm informed by a design trend of glasses having high n_d (1.7 or more) and low T_g (500 °C or less). Two candidate compositions suggested by the combined algorithms were selected and produced in the laboratory. These compositions are significantly different from those in the datasets used to induce the predictive models, showing that the used method is indeed capable of exploration. Both glasses met the constraints of the work, which supports the proposed framework. Therefore, this new tool can be immediately used for accelerating the design of new glasses. These results are a stepping stone in the pathway of machine learning-guided design of novel glasses.     

Effect of Drosophila suzukii on Blueberry VOCs: Chemical Cues for a Pupal Parasitoid,Trichopria anastrephae

Journal of Chemical Ecology - Biocontrol agents such as parasitic wasps use long-range volatiles and host-associated cues from lower trophic levels to find their hosts. However, this chemical...     

Microwave hybrid fast sintering of red clay ceramics

This work aimed to examine the performance of the hybrid sintering of clay ceramic in a microwave furnace, compared to the sintering process in a conventional furnace. The raw materials were subjected to X-ray fluorescence, loss on ignition (LOI), X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution, real specific mass, and thermogravimetric analyses. The red clay ceramic mass was prepared, extruded, pre-sintered in a conventional furnace at 600°C/60 min, and sintered at temperatures between 700 °C and 1100 °C. The sintering conventional (resistive oven) was carried out for 60 min with a heating rate of 10°C/min. In the microwave furnace, the sintering times were 5, 10, and 15 min, with a heating rate of 50°C/min, with a sintering chamber coated with silicon carbide (susceptor). The sintered specimens were characterized according to linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent specific mass, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy analysis, spectroscopy analysis in the ultraviolet and visible regions, microhardness, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that microwave sintering promoted an increase in the microhardness and apparent specific mass, and reduction in water absorption and apparent porosity values, due to greater densification in the microstructure. The best results occurred for specimens sintered at 1100°C.     

Phase locked loop-based clock synthesizer for reconfigurable analog-to-digital converters

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing - This paper presents the complete design of a phase locked loop-based clock synthesizer for reconfigurable analog-to-digital converters. The...     

A novel ceramic matrix composite based on YNbO4–TiO2 for microwave applications

This work presents the dielectric properties of YNbO₄ (YNO)–TiO₂ composites in the microwave range. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that the addition of TiO₂ to YNO results in the formation of a Y(Nb_0.5Ti_0.5)₂O₆ phase. In the microwave range, the values of permittivity and dielectric loss did not present major changes with the increment of TiO₂. Moreover, the addition of TiO₂ results in an improvement in the thermal stability of YNO, with YNO63 demonstrating a resonant frequency of ?8.96 ppm.°C^?1. We utilised numerical simulations to evaluate the behaviour of these materials as dielectric resonator antennae and it is found that they exhibit a reflection coefficient below ?10 dB at the resonant frequency, with a realised gain of 4.94 – 5.76 dBi, a bandwidth of 665–1050 MHz and a radiation efficiency above 84%. Our results indicate that YNO–TiO₂ composites are interesting candidates for microwave operating devices.     

Methodology for Estimating Streamflow by Water Balance and Rating Curve Methods Based on Logistic Regression

Both water balance (WB) and rating curve (RC) are methods for estimating streamflow. The first is mostly used to estimate reservoir outflows, while the second is usually adopted in hydrometeorological network streamflow gauges. While WB uses hourly collected data, the RC estimates streamflow using current water level and extrapolation techniques. The objective of this study was to analyze variations in the reservoir’s hourly outflow at Queimado Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP Queimado) and to propose a method to evaluate whether the estimate of the daily outflows, obtained by the WB method, is similar to the flow values obtained at a conventional station. The logistic regression (LR) model was used because it is a method that adopts binary, categorically dependent variables to identify the event of interest. The results showed that the values of streamflow, obtained from an average of two daily readings, were a good representation of the flows in the region. The LR was able to identify atypical data, especially in the rainy season. This means that data consistency analysis can be faster and safer, when adequately employed and considering the proposed conditions, contributing to both management policies and the management of water resources.

     

Increasing the photocatalytic and fungicide activities of Ag3PO4 microcrystals under visible-light irradiation

The present study reports for the first time the performance of silver phosphate (Ag₃PO₄) microcrystals as photocatalyst (degradation of Rodamine B-RhB) and antifungal agent (against Candida albicans–C. albicans) under visible-light irradiation (455 nm). Ag₃PO₄ microcrystals were synthesized by a simple co-precipitation (CP) method at room temperature. The structural and electronic properties of the as-synthetized Ag₃PO₄ have been investigated before and after 4 cycles of RhB degradation under visible light using X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometer and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images. The antifungal activity was analyzed in planktonic cells and 48h-biofilm of C. albicans by colony forming units (CFU) counting, confocal laser and FE-SE microscopies. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS software. Morphological and structural modifications of Ag₃PO₄ were observed upon recycling. After 4 recycles, the material maintained its photodegradation property; an eightfold increase in the efficiency of Ag₃PO₄ was observed in planktonic cells and a two fold increase in biofilm when irradiated under visible light. Thus, higher antifungal effectiveness against C. albicans was obtained when associated with visible-light irradiation.     

Current advances concerning the most cited metal ions doped bioceramics and silicate-based bioactive glasses for bone tissue engineering

Studies related to biomaterials that stimulate the repair of living tissue have increased considerably, improving the quality of many people's lives that require surgery due to traumatic accidents, bone diseases, bone defects, and reconstructions. Among these biomaterials, bioceramics and bioactive glasses (BGs) have proved to be suitable for coating materials, cement, scaffolds, and nanoparticles, once they present good biocompatibility and degradability, able to generate osteoconduction on the surrounding tissue. However, the role of biomaterials in hard tissue engineering is not restricted to a structural replacement or for guiding tissue regeneration. Nowadays, it is expected that biomaterials develop a multifunctional role when implanted, orchestrating the process of tissue regeneration and providing to the body the capacity to heal itself. In this way, the incorporation of specific metal ions in bioceramics and BGs structure, including magnesium, silver, strontium, lithium, copper, iron, zinc, cobalt, and manganese are currently receiving enhanced interest as biomaterials for biomedical applications. When an ion is incorporated into the bioceramic structure, a new category of material is created, which has several unique properties that overcome the disadvantages of primitive material and favors its use in different biomedical applications. The doping can enhance handling properties, angiogenic and osteogenic performance, and antimicrobial activity. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the effect of selected metal ion dopants into bioceramics and silicate-based BGs in bone tissue engineering. Furthermore, new applications for doped bioceramics and BGs are highlighted, including cancer treatment and drug delivery.     

Graphical Methodology to Study the Corona Onset Voltage for Electrostatic Precipitation of Nanoparticles

Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering - The corona onset voltage is an important operating parameter in the electrostatic precipitation of nanoparticulate, however, its experimental...