Glass and polymeric membrane electrodes for the measurement of pH in milk and cheese

While there is a considerable interest in the food industry in determining various analytes using ion-selective electrodes (ISEs), only few reports describe their use for direct measurements in food. In this study, the suitability of glass electrodes and ionophore-based solvent polymeric ISEs for the determination of pH in Process cheese, Cheddar cheese and milk was investigated. The liquid junction potential between a 3 M KCl bridge electrolyte and diluted as well as undiluted Process cheese was found to be negligible. Reference electrodes with ceramic plug and sleeve-type junctions performed well, although precautions needed to be taken to prevent plugging at the junctions. While the protein rennet casein posed no problems in pH measurements, the extraction of neutral lipophilic compounds or hydrophobic peptides into solvent polymeric membranes was evident, resulting in some loss of selectivity for monovalent cations upon exposure to cheese. However, it was found that ISEs based on tridodecylamine (R₃N) as ionophore and o-nitrophenyl octyl ether (oNPOE) as plasticizer can be used to accurately measure the pH of milk and, after desensitization of the electrodes in a cheese emulsion, of diluted Process cheese. Since pH measurements with a glass electrode showed that emulsions of cheese moderately diluted to a cheese content of 70% have the same pH as undiluted cheeses, it is possible to determine the pH in cheese with ionophore-based ISEs. R₃N membranes also performed well in undiluted milk.     

Hydrodynamics of a bounded vertical film with nonlinear surface properties

The drainage of a thin liquid film with an insoluble monolayer down a vertical wall is studied. Lubrication theory is used to develop a model where the film is pinned at the top with a given thickness and the film drains into a bath at the bottom. A nonlinear equation of state is used for the surface tension and the surface viscosity is a nonlinear function of the surfactant concentration; these are appropriate for some aqueous systems. The three partial differential equations are solved via discretization in space and then the resulting differential algebraic system is solved. Results are described for a wide range of parameters, and the conditions under which the free surface is immobilized are discussed.     

Tetragonal paramagnetic complex in Gd3+ doped Nd2(SO4)3·(NH4)2SO4·8H2O au]V.M. Malhotra

EPR studies of Gd³⁺ doped in single crystals of Nd₂(SO₄)₃·(NH₄)₂SO₄·8H₂O (hereafter referred to as NASO) at room (RT) and liquid nitrogen (LNT) temperatures exhibit that (1) the metal aquo complex has a tetragonal symmetry with abnormally low magnitudes of crystalline field parameters at RT and (2) NASO undergoes a possible phase transition between RT and LNT.     

Synthesis and formulation of self-immolative PEG-aryl azide block copolymers and click-to-release reactivity with trans-cyclooctene

Self-immolative aryl azides can react with trans-cyclooctenes (TCO), triphenylphosphines or hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) to activate prodrugs, imaging probes and drug delivery systems. To date, the synthesis of polymers containing these aryl azide self-immolative linkers and their reactivity with a strained alkene (i.e., in a bioorthogonal reaction) has not been explored. Also, due to the instability of aryl azides towards light and high temperatures, the polymerization methods compatible with aryl azides are limited. Through systematic investigation of the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) methods, a self-immolative PEG-aryl azide block copolymer (PEG₄₅-b-ABOC₂₈ 2 ) and a non-responsive 4-fluoroaryl block copolymer (PEG₄₅-b-FBOC₂₄ 3 ) was prepared. ATRP provided the desired polymers in a highly controlled manner, whereas the RAFT conditions led to higher levels of aryl azide polymer degradation. The ATRP derived polymers 2 and 3 were formulated into nanoparticles of approximately 200 nm diameter, and particle triggering was demonstrated by the [3+2]-cycloaddition reaction of TCO with PEG₄₅-b-ABOC₂₈ 2 in solution (pure polymer) and as a formulated nanoparticle. Preliminary in vitro cell viability studies suggested that the stimuli-responsive aryl azide polymers/nanoparticles are not cytotoxic up to 200 μg/ml concentrations.     

Similarities and differences in the structures of 5‐bromo‐6‐hydroxy‐7,8‐dimethylchroman‐2‐one and 6‐hydroxy‐7,8‐dimethyl‐5‐nitrochroman‐2‐one

The title compounds, C₁₁H₁₁BrO₃, (I), and C₁₁H₁₁NO₅, (II), respectively, are derivatives of 6‐hydroxy‐5,7,8‐trimethylchroman‐2‐one substituted at the 5‐position by a Br atom in (I) and by a nitro group in (II). The pyranone rings in both molecules adopt half‐chair conformations, and intramolecular O—H...Br [in (I)] and O—H...O_nitro [in (II)] hydrogen bonds affect the dispositions of the hydroxy groups. Classical intermolecular O—H...O hydrogen bonds are found in both molecules but play quite dissimilar roles in the crystal structures. In (I), O—H...O hydrogen bonds form zigzag C(9) chains of molecules along the a axis. Because of the tetragonal symmetry, similar chains also form along b. In (II), however, similar contacts involving an O atom of the nitro group form inversion dimers and generate R₂²(12) rings. These also result in a close intermolecular O...O contact of 2.686 (4) Å. For (I), four additional C—H...O hydrogen bonds combine with π–π stacking interactions between the benzene rings to build an extensive three‐dimensional network with molecules stacked along the c axis. The packing in (II) is much simpler and centres on the inversion dimers formed through O—H...O contacts. These dimers are stacked through additional C—H...O hydrogen bonds, and further weak C—H...O interactions generate a three‐dimensional network of dimer stacks.     

EPR observation of a high temperature phase transition in Zn(ClO4)2·6H2O:Mn2+

The electron paramagnetic resonance of Mn²⁺ doped in single crystals of Zn(ClO₄)₂·6H₂O has been studied at X-band in the temperature range 300–380 K. A phase transition, observed at ～ 346 K, is reported for the first time.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance of divalent manganese in cobalt ammonium sulphate hexahydrate

EPR of Mn²⁺ has been studied in cobalt ammonium sulphate hexahydrate from ≈ 90°K to ≈ 373°K. The spin-hamiltonian analysis is presented. It is concluded that the coordination of water ligands around the divalent ion is almost the same as that in other Tutton salts.     

Ferroelectric soft-mode contribution to zero-field splitting: Paramagnetic resonance investigation of phase transition in Mn2+-doped NaNO2

The contribution of the ferroelectric soft-mode to the zero-field splitting is calculated and separated from the thermal contribution arising from the splitting due to the electron-phonon interaction. The predicted effect is compared with the measured values in Mn²⁺-doped NaNO₂.     

Loss-based quality costs and inventory planning: General models and insights

In this paper, we examine a joint lot-sizing and process investment problem with random yield and backorders. We allow for inspection and develop stochastic models which provide the optimal inspection and lot-sizing policy as well as the optimal process investment for variance reduction. The process quality loss profile around the target is captured via a modification of the Reflected Normal loss function. We conduct numerical experiments assuming that the proportion of defectives follows a Uniform distribution while the process quality characteristic follows either a Normal or Uniform distribution. We also develop closed-form solutions that depend on at most the first two moments of any general probability distribution of defective units and which allow us to examine the nature of optimal policies. We demonstrate via numerical experiments the value of our integrated approach for jointly determining optimal inventory, inspection, and investment policies. Overall, our models and analyses provide some interesting insights into this reasonably complex inventory-quality problem and open up several avenues for future work in this area.