Porous structure optimization of electrospun carbon materials

According to standard contact porosimetry data, treatment of electrospun pyropolymer mats based on pyrolyzed polyacrylonitrile and polybenzimidazole (PBI) nanofibers with a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acids causes a drastic increase in the specific surface area of macro- and mesopores and complete disappearance of micropores. Acid treatment is followed by hydrophilization of pores with radii r < 10 nm. Taken altogether, these effects lead to higher performance of the membrane-electrode assembly of a high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell based on PBI membrane with the cathode made of the platinized acid-treated material.

     

Composition and deployment of e-Health services over Wireless Sensor Networks

Providing necessary background for provisioning of a new generation of enriched services over Wireless Sensor Networks is the main effort that the scientific community is currently carrying out. These services have improved a great number of aspects related to pervasive systems such as saving resources, efficiency, reliability, scalability and low power consumption. In this paper, $\mu$SMS middleware, using an event-based service model, is presented. This novel approach makes up the design requirements previously mentioned by implementing a dynamic memory kernel and a variable payload multiplexing mechanism for the information events in order to provide advanced services. The results obtained over real-world deployments, especially those related with provision of e-Health services, reflect a significant improvement over other similar proposals, such as the RUNES approach: 50% lower memory overhead, 53% lower software components load time and 12% lower event’s propagation time.     

New catechol derivatives of safrole and their antiproliferative activity towards breast cancer cells

Catechols were synthesized from safrole. Nine derivatives were prepared and assessed for antiproliferative effects using different human cell lines. The in vitro growth inhibition assay was based on the sulphorhodamine dye to quantify cell viability. The derivatives 4-allylbenzene-1,2-diol (3), 4 4-[3-(acetyloxy)propyl]-1,2-phenylene diacetate (6) and 4-[3-(acetyloxy)propyl]-5-nitro-1,2-phenylene diacetate (10) showed higher cytotoxicity than the parent compound 2 in tests performed on two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). The IC?? values of 40.2 ± 6.9 μM, 5.9 ± 0.8 μM and 33.8 ± 4.9 μM, respectively, were obtained without toxicity towards dermal human fibroblast (DHF cells).     

Unexpected size distribution of Ba(H2O)n clusters: why is the intensity of the Ba(H2O)1 cluster anomalously low?

An experimental and theoretical study on the reactivity of neutral Ba atoms with water clusters has been conducted to unravel the origin of the irregular intensity pattern observed in one-photon ionization mass spectra of a Ba(H(2)O)(n)/BaOH(H(2)O)(n-1) (n = 1-4) cluster distribution, which was generated in a laser vaporization-supersonic expansion source. The most remarkable irregular feature is the finding for n = 1 of a lower intensity for the Ba(+)(H(2)O)(n) peak with respect to that of BaOH(+)(H(2)O)(n-1), which is opposite to the trend for n = 2-4. Rationalization of the data required consideration of a distinct behavior of ground-state and electronically excited state Ba atoms in inelastic and reactive Ba + (H(2)O)(n) encounters that can occur in the cluster source. Within this picture, the generation of Ba(H(2)O)(n) (n > 1) association products results from stabilizing collisions with atoms of the carrier gas, which are favored by intramolecular vibrational redistribution that operates on the corresponding collision intermediates prior to stabilization; the latter is unlikely to occur for Ba + (H(2)O) encounters. Overall, this interpretation is consistent with additional in-source laser excitation and quenching experiments, which aimed to explore qualitatively the effect of perturbing the Ba atom electronic state population distribution on the observed intensity pattern, as well as with the energetics of various possible reactions for the Ba + H(2)O system that derive from high level ab initio calculations.     

Polyelectrolyte complexes of chitosan/heparin and <Emphasis Type="Italic">N,N,N-</Emphasis>trimethyl chitosan/heparin obtained at different pH: I. Preparation,characterization, and controlled release of heparin

Chitosan and N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan (TMC) were treated with heparin (HP) to produce polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs). The structures of PECs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared and CP-MAS ¹³C NMR spectroscopies. A thermal stability of TMC/HP complex was evaluated by thermogravimetric analyses, and morphology was investigated by SEM images. The ratio between the carbons bonded to noncharged nitrogen atoms (CΦ) and the carbons bonded to positively charged nitrogen atoms (Cω) in TMC was calculated through of the degree quaternization (DQ), being the DQ obtained through ¹H NMR data. Experiments of controlled release of HP were performed in distilled water at pH ∼7, using methylene blue/heparin system as solute. The release profiles of HP from TMC/HP complex are quite different each other. The value of CΦ/Cω ratio was used for explaining such an effect. The CΦ/Cω ratio tends to be constantly (∼0.69) as high as the pH of medium in which the PEC of TMC/HP was obtained. The change of CΦ/Cω ratio on the pH was also considered to explain the improvement of thermal stability of PEC2 with increase of pH. Data show that PEC of TMC/HP formed at pH 8 is a promising material for uses in oral site-specific HP release systems.     

Cyclodextrins-Kaempferol Inclusion Complexes: Spectroscopic and Reactivity Studies

The slightly water-soluble flavonoid kaempferol (KAE) and its inclusion complexes with β-cyclodextrin (βCD), hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) or heptakis-2,6-O-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin (DMβCD) were investigated. The stoichiometric ratios and association constants describing the extent of the formation of the complexes have been determined. Binding constants, estimated from fluorescence studies at different temperatures, were analyzed so as to gain information about the mechanisms involved in the association processes. The thermodynamic data for the inclusion of KAE in DMβCD and HPβCD indicated that it is mainly enthalpy-driven whereas for βCD it is an entropy-driven process. Complex formation was monitored by two-dimensional ROESY experiments through the detection of intramolecular dipolar interaction. ROESY experiments provided data indicating that the B-ring of kaempferol is immersed in the apolar cavity with the A- and C-ring protruding from the wider rim for the three cyclodextrins studied. The antioxidant studies of KAE and CDs complexes showed an increment in its antioxidant activity. The complexes behave as better antioxidants than kaempferol alone.     

Fine Structure of Levels and Piezospectroscopy of A<Superscript>+</Superscript> Centers in GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Wells

Experimental and theoretical piezospectroscopic investigation of A⁺ centers in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells doped with beryllium is presented. Spectra of linearly polarized photoluminescence are studied experimentally depending on applied uniaxial pressure. A model of the A⁺ center in the quantum well in the presence of uniaxial deformation in the plane of the quantum well has been constructed. Analytical expressions for the level energy, optical transition intensities, and polarization ratio have been obtained. In the framework of the proposed theory, the experimentally observed change in the polarization ratio depending on pressure and the shift of the line maximum towards short waves are explained.