Temperature effects on supercontinuum generation using a continuous-wave Raman fiber laser

We describe the effect of temperature variations on supercontinuum (SC) generation in optical fibers using a continuous-wave (CW) Raman fiber laser as a pump. We achieve supercontinuum generation by pumping only ∼2 W of power into a 7 km-long nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZDSF) in the region of small anomalous dispersion. In these conditions, the supercontinuum builds up basically on modulational instability and Raman. At room temperature, the supercontinuum covers effectively the S, C and L transmission bands defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Temperature tuning of the fiber environment provides a means of tuning the fiber dispersion, and thus a means of changing the width and shape of the supercontinuum spectrum. We demonstrate a 27% increase in the 10-dB SC width. We believe that the application of this new tuning mechanism to other experimental configurations using pulsed sources might be used to produce extremely broad supercontinuums.     

On the convergence of isolated neutral oxygen vacancy and divacancy properties in metal oxides using supercell models

The properties of isolated neutral oxygen vacancies and divacancies of metal oxides of increasing complexity (MgO, CaO, alpha-Al2O3, and ZnO) have been studied by means of density-functional theory within a supercell periodic approach. Vacancy formation energies, vacancy-vacancy interactions, and geometry rearrangements around these point defects have been investigated in detail. The characterization of the electronic structure of these point defects has been established by analysis of the density of states and of the topology of the electron density and of electron localization function. It is found that the chemical character of the oxide determines the properties of the oxygen vacancies. For the covalent ZnO oxide, a more complex scheme arises in which the relaxation around the oxygen vacancy is much larger leading to the formation of Zn4-like almost metallic particles in the crystal. The relationship of these structures with the crystal shear planes is discussed. The present study shows that supercells containing approximately 200-300 atoms provide converged values for the geometric and electronic structure of oxygen vacancies of these metal oxides in the point defect low concentration limit.     

Selection of thermotolerant yeasts for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of cellulose to ethanol

A total of 27 yeast strains belonging to the groupsCandida, Saccharomyces, andKluyveromyces were screened for their ability to grow and ferment glucose at temperatures ranging 32-45°C. K. marxianus andK. fragilis were found to be the best ethanol producing organisms at the higher temperature tested and, so, were selected for subsequent simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) studies.     

Analysis of Nitrofuran Residues in Animal Feed Using Liquid Chromatography and Photodiode-Array Detection

The analysis of four nitrofuran veterinary drugs, nitrofurantoin, furazolidone, furaltadone and nitrofurazone, was optimized using reversed-phase liquid chromatography with a monolithic column and photo-diode array detection. The antibiotics were extracted from animal feeds by heating with acetonitrile. The isocratic mobile phase consisted of a 8:92 (v/v) acetonitrile/phosphate buffer (pH 4.5) at a flow-rate of 1 mL min⁻¹. Peaks were identified by the retention characteristics and UV spectra. Detection limits in the water samples ranged between 0.21 and 0.27 μg L⁻¹, and in the feed samples between 2.1 and 2.7 μg kg⁻¹, depending on the nitrofuran. The procedure was applied to the control of nitrofuran residues in farm water for poultry and different animal feeds.     

A synthetic hydroxy acid that shows tubular-shaped structure in solid-state and ionophoric activity in phospholipid bilayers

[formula: see text] In this contribution, we describe the ability of compound (+/-)-1b and six molecules of water to form in solid-state hexameric aggregates, which self-assemble to give hollow tubular structures. Single-crystal X-ray analysis shows that these tubes are open-ended, with irregular shape and internal van der Waals pore diameter between 6 and 9 A. In addition, transmembrane sodium transport activity was also assessed for (+/-)-1b using dynamic Na(+)-NMR technique.     

Binding Study of the [Ru(NH3)5pz]2+ Complex to Bile Anion Aggregates through Kinetic Measurements

The electron transfer reaction between [Ru(NH₃)₅pz]²⁺ and [Co(C₂O₄)₃]^3? was studied in the presence of monomers and aggregates of bile salts (sodium deoxycholate, sodium taurodeoxycholate, and sodium glycocholate) at 298.2 ± 0.1 K. The results show a decreasing rate constant with the successive addition of bile salts. To rationalize the trends of the reaction rate on the [bile salts], two models were used. One of them takes into account the aggregation feature by considering a stepwise self‐association between monomers, whereas the other assumes the formation of a critical micellar concentration. Binding constants between [Ru(NH₃)₅pz]²⁺ species and deoxycholate or taurodeoxycholate aggregates were higher than that for glycocholate aggregates. These results are consistent with the way in which the monomers are added to form the bile anion aggregates.