Strain engineering of the magnetocaloric effect in MnAs epilayers

By using heteroepitaxy on two different GaAs templates, we have investigated the impact of anisotropic strain on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of MnAs. The temperature range, spread around room temperature, and the maximal MCE position are markedly different in the two epitaxial systems. Simulated MCE curves, obtained from a model based on the mean-field approximation, are in good agreement with the experimental data, indicating that the entropy variation is magnetic in origin. These results illustrate how strain can be used to tune the MCE in materials with coupled structural and magnetic phase transition and suggest that the MCE of MnAs may find applications in microelectronic circuitry.     

Effective Critical Micellar Concentration of a Zwitterionic Detergent: A Fluorimetric Study on <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">n</Emphasis>-Dodecyl Phosphocholine

We have investigated the effect of ionic strength on the aggregation behavior of n-dodecyl phosphocholine. On the basis of the classical Corrin–Harkins relation, the critical micellar concentration of this detergent decreases with a biphasic trend on lithium chloride addition. It is nearly constant below 150 mM salt, with a mean value of 0.91 mM, whereas it undergoes a dramatic 80-fold decrease in 7 M LiCl. Such a drop in the critical micellar concentration could be explained by the effect of salting out and the implication of phosphocholine head groups on the organization of surrounding water. Knowledge of the effective critical micellar concentration of n-dodecyl phosphocholine could be useful in the purification of membrane proteins in non-denaturing conditions.     

Singular Hartree equation in fractional perturbed Sobolev spaces

We establish the local and global theory for the Cauchy problem of the singular Hartree equation in three dimensions, that is, the modification of the non-linear Schrödinger equation with Hartree non-linearity, where the linear part is now given by the Hamiltonian of point interaction. The latter is a singular, self-adjoint perturbation of the free Laplacian, modelling a contact interaction at a fixed point. The resulting non-linear equation is the typical effective equation for the dynamics of condensed Bose gases with fixed point-like impurities. We control the local solution theory in the perturbed Sobolev spaces of fractional order between the mass space and the operator domain. We then control the global solution theory both in the mass and in the energy space.     

Fruits Vinegar: Quality Characteristics,Phytochemistry, and Functionality

The popularity of fruits vinegar (FsV) has been increased recently as a healthy drink wealthy in bioactive compounds that provide several beneficial properties. This review was designed in the frame of valorization of fruits vinegar as a by-product with high value added by providing overall information on its biochemical constituents and beneficial potencies. It contains a cocktail of bioactive ingredients including polyphenolic acids, organic acids, tetramethylperazine, and melanoidins. Acetic acid is the most abundant organic acid and chlorogenic acid is the major phenol in apple vinegar. The administration of fruits vinegar could prevent diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, oxidative stress, cancer, and boost immunity as well as provide a remarkable antioxidant ability. The production techniques influence the quality of vinegar, and consequently, its health benefits.     

Tritordeum as an Innovative Alternative to Wheat: A Comparative Digestion Study on Bread

Tritordeum results from the crossbreeding of a wild barley (Hordeum chilense) species with durum wheat (Triticum turgidum spp. turgidum). This hexaploid crop exhibits agronomic and rheological characteristics like soft wheat, resulting in an innovative raw material to produce baked goods. We applied a gel-based proteomic approach on refined flours to evaluate protein expression differences among two widespread tritordeum cultivars (Aucan and Bulel) taking as the reference semolina and flour derived from a durum and a soft wheat cvs, respectively. The products of in vitro digestion of model breads were analyzed to compare bio-accessibility of nutrients and mapping tritordeum bread resistant peptides. Significant differences among the protein profiles of the four flours were highlighted by electrophoresis. The amino acid bio-accessibility and the reducing sugars of tritordeum and wheat breads were comparable. Tritordeum cvs had about 15% higher alpha-amino nitrogen released at the end of the duodenal simulated digestion than soft wheat (p < 0.05). Bulel tritordeum flour, bread and digested bread had about 55% less R5-epitopes compared to the soft wheat. Differences in protein expression found between the two tritordeum cvs reflected in diverse digestion products and allergenic and celiacogenic potential of the duodenal peptides. Proteomic studies of a larger number of tritordeum cvs may be successful in selecting those with good agronomical performances and nutritional advantages.     

Chemically induced phase separated morphologies in epoxy resin‐hyperbranched polymer blends

The morphology build‐up in toughened epoxy blends using reactive hyperbranched dendritic polymers (HBP) and amine‐cured epoxy resins has been investigated in the present work. By changing the processing conditions or the surface chemistry of the modifier, very different morphologies can be obtained, ranging from homogeneous blends to coarse two‐phase systems. The morphology characterised by electron and optical microscopy has been interpreted combining constitutive equations for phase separation and thermodynamic modelling of phase interactions. The latter model, based on the Flory‐Huggins lattice theory, was modified in order to take into account the addition reactivity of the HBP modifiers. This approach proved successful and can be used as a tool for final morphology prediction in any reactive blend formulation.