Antioxidant activity of rosemary extracts in solution and embedded in polymeric systems

The rosemary extract was encapsulated in polyethylene or in covalently-based network gels. The covalent gels were obtained by the reaction of isocyanate end-capped polyethylene glycol (PEG) with β-cyclodextrin or glycerol. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was used to evaluate the antioxidant activity (AA) of rosemary extract entrapped in polymeric structures and in ethanol or water solutions. The AA of the rosemary extract was determined using a DPPH radical for samples prepared in ethanol, and a water-soluble derivative, the sulphonated DPPH radical (DPPH-SO₃Na), for the rosemary extract in water. Formulation of the rosemary extract in polymeric gels ensures a rapid release which determines the AA values similar to those in solution.     

Connections on the Total Space of a Holomorphic Lie Algebroid

The main purpose of the paper is the study of the total space of a holomorphic Lie algebroid E. The paper is structured in three parts. In the first section, we briefly introduce basic notions on holomorphic Lie algebroids. The local expressions are written and the complexified holomorphic bundle is introduced. The second section presents two approaches on the study of the geometry of the complex manifold E. The first part contains the study of the tangent bundle \(T_{\mathbb {C}}E=T'E\oplus T''E\) and its link, via the tangent anchor map, with the complexified tangent bundle \(T_{\mathbb {C}}(T'M)=T'(T'M)\oplus T''(T'M)\). A holomorphic Lie algebroid structure is emphasized on \(T'E\). A special study is made for integral curves of a spray on \(T'E\). Theorem 2.8 gives the coefficients of a spray, called canonical, obtained from a complex Lagrangian on \(T'E\). In the second part of section two, we study the holomorphic prolongation \(\mathcal {T}'E\) of the Lie algebroid E. In the third section, we study how a complex Lagrange (Finsler) structure on \(T'M\) induces a Lagrangian structure on E. Three particular cases are analysed by the rank of the anchor map, the dimensions of manifold M, and those of the fibres. We obtain the correspondent on E of the Chern–Lagrange nonlinear connection from \(T'M\).     

Engineering Multifunctional Gold Decorated Dendritic Mesoporous Silica/Tantalum Oxide Nanoparticles for Intraperitoneal Tumor‐Specific Delivery

Nonspecific high‐energy radiation for treatment of metastatic ovarian cancer is limited by damage to healthy organs, which can be mitigated by the use of radiosensitizers and image‐guided radiotherapy. Gold (Au) and tantalum oxide (TaO_x) nanoparticles (NPs), by virtue of their high atomic numbers, find utility in the design of bimetallic NP systems capable of high‐contrast computed tomography (CT) imaging as well as a potential radiosensitizing effect. These two radio‐dense metals are integrated into dendritic mesoporous silica NPs (dMSNs) with radial porous channels for high surface‐area loading of therapeutic agents. This approach results in stable, monodispersed dMSNs with a uniform distribution of Au on the surface and TaO_x in the core that exhibits CT attenuation up to seven times greater than iodine or monometallic dMSNs without either TaO_x or Au. Tumor targeting is assessed in a metastatic ovarian cancer mouse model. Ex vivo micro‐CT imaging of collected tumors shows that these NPs not only accumulate at tumor sites but also penetrate inside tumor tissues. This study demonstrates that after intraperitoneal administration, rationally designed bimetallic NPs can simultaneously serve as targeted contrast agents for imaging tumors and to enhance radiation therapy in metastatic ovarian cancer.     

Isothermal catalytic combustion of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-pentane/air mixtures on platinum wire

The transient response of the input power necessary to maintain isothermal conditions after a step temperature perturbation applied to a platinum wire immersed in a gaseous fuel/air mixture allows for the measurement of the reaction heat flow rate, directly related to the rate of the catalytic combustion. The S-shaped variation of this rate in time is employed to evaluate the induction period of the catalytic ignition. The effect of mixture composition, total pressure, and catalyst temperature on the induction period for the catalytic ignition of lean to stoichiometric n-pentane/air mixtures on isothermally heated platinum wire is reported and discussed. The mixture composition was varied between 1.40 and 2.56% n-pentane in air, the total pressure between 20 and 101 kPa, and the wire temperature between 470 and 600 K. The reaction rates, turnover frequencies, overall and partial reaction orders, and activation energies were determined from the analysis of the obtained results and compared to other reported data.     

On some Closed Magnetic Curves on a 3-torus

We consider two magnetic fields on the 3-torus obtained from two different contact forms on the Euclidean 3-space and we study when their corresponding normal magnetic curves are closed. We obtain periodicity conditions analogues to those for the closed geodesics on the torus.     

On the complexity and analysis of auxetic systems

A challenge in creating a model for an auxetic system based on a formalism that is fully computable, is the aim of this paper. Two major levels of complexity are discussed in a way of understanding the structure and processes that define an auxetic system. The auxeticity and structural complexity are interpreted in the light of Cosserat elasticity which admits degrees of freedom not present in classical elasticity, i.e. the rotation of points in the material, and a couple per unit area or the couple stress. The Young'modulus computing for a laminated periodic system made up of alternating aluminum and an auxetic material is an example of computing complexity. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Electron transport through high-κ dielectric barriers: A non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) study

We present a simulation study of the coherent transport of electrons through high permittivity (high-κ) dielectric barriers using the non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism. Calculation and useful formula are established for a one-dimensional grid using a finite-difference scheme and an effective-mass depending on the position along the grid. A numerical simulation code is used to investigate the tunneling properties and the transmission coefficient of different metal–insulator–metal structures with stacked dielectrics and to compare single- or two-layer high-κ dielectric stacks in terms of tunneling transmission coefficient and local density-of-states. We particularly highlight the influence of wave-function reflections against barrier discontinuity on the transmission coefficient, especially in two-layer high-κ dielectric stacks.     

Investigation of capacitance–voltage characteristics in Ge /high-κ MOS devices

We developed a one-dimensional numerical simulation code for the calculation of the gate voltage–capacitance characteristic of MOS structures including the self-consistently solving of the Schrödinger and Poisson equations for different alternative channel materials with high mobility such as Ge, and non-conventional gate dielectrics such as HfO₂ and Al₂O₃. Our simulation results are confronted to experimental data for various MOS structures with different semiconductors and dielectric stacks.     

Polylactic acid (PLA)/Silver-NP/VitaminE bionanocomposite electrospun nanofibers with antibacterial and antioxidant activity

The antibacterial property of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and the antioxidant activity of Vitamin E have been combined by incorporation of these two active components within polylactic acid (PLA) nanofibers via electrospinning (PLA/Ag-NP/VitaminE nanofibers). The morphological and structural characterizations of PLA/Ag-NP/VitaminE nanofibers were performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The average fiber diameter was 140 ± 60 nm, and the size of the Ag-NP was 2.7 ± 1.5 nm. PLA/Ag-NP/VitaminE nanofibers inhibited growth of Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhymurium up to 100 %. The amount of released Ag ions from the nanofibers immersed in aqueous solution was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, and it has been observed that the release of Ag ions was kept approximately constant after 10 days of immersion. The antioxidant activity of PLA/Ag-NP/VitaminE nanofibers was evaluated according to DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method and determined as 94 %. The results of the tests on fresh apple and apple juice indicated that the PLA/Ag/VitaminE nanofiber membrane actively reduced the polyphenol oxidase activity. The multifunctional electrospun PLA nanofibers incorporating Ag-NP and Vitamin E may be quite applicable in food packaging due to the extremely large surface area of nanofibers along with antibacterial and antioxidant activities. These materials could find application in food industry as a potential preservative packaging for fruits and juices.