Analytical characterization of bioactive fluoropolymer ultra-thin coatings modified by copper nanoparticles

Copper–fluoropolymer (Cu-CFx) nano-composite films are deposited by dual ion-beam sputtering. The extensive analytical characterization of these layers reveals that inorganic nanoparticles composed of Cu(II) species are evenly dispersed in a branched fluoropolymer matrix. In particular, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been employed to study the surface chemical composition of the material and to assess how it changes on increasing the copper loading in the composite. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the copper nanoclusters have a mean diameter of 2–3 nm and are homogeneously in-plane distributed in the composite films. Electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy has been used to study the kinetics of copper release in the solutions employed for the biological tests. The Cu-CFx layers are employed as bioactive coatings capable of inhibiting the growth of target microorganisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Lysteria. The results of the analytical characterization enable a strict correlation to be established among the chemical composition of the material surface, the concentration of copper dissolved in the microorganisms broths, and the bioactivity of the nano-structured layer.     

(Poly)phenols in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Review

(Poly)phenols (PPs) may have a therapeutic benefit in gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this review is to summarise the evidence-base in this regard. Observational evidence does not give a clear indication that PP intake has a preventative role for IBD or IBS, while interventional studies suggest these compounds may confer symptomatic and health-related quality of life improvements in known patients. There are inconsistent results for effects on markers of inflammation, but there are promising reports of endoscopic improvement. Work on the effects of PPs on intestinal permeability and oxidative stress is limited and therefore conclusions cannot be formed. Future work on the use of PPs in IBD and IBS will strengthen the understanding of clinical and mechanistic effects.     

Characterization of ion beam sputter deposited W and Si films and W/Si interfaces by grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity, atomic force microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry

An ion beam sputtering system, which uses a commercial ECR microwave based plasma ion source, has been designed and fabricated in-house for deposition of soft X-ray multilayer mirrors. To begin with, in the ion beam sputtering system W, Si thin films, W/Si bi-layer and W/Si/W tri-layer samples have been deposited on c-Si substrates as precursors to W/Si multilayer stack. The samples have been characterized by grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity (GIXR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) techniques. By analyzing the results, density, thickness, surface roughness of the single layer samples and interface width of the bi-layer and tri-layer samples have been estimated.     

On the deformation rigidity of smooth projective symmetric varieties with Picard number one

Symmetric varieties are normal equivariant open embeddings of symmetric homogeneous spaces and they are interesting examples of spherical varieties. The principal goal of this article is to study the rigidity under Kähler deformations of smooth projective symmetric varieties with Picard number one.     

Biocompatible channels for field-flow fractionation of biological samples: correlation between surface composition and operating performance

Biocompatible methods capable of rapid purification and fractionation of analytes from complex natural matrices are increasingly in demand, particularly at the forefront of biotechnological applications. Field-flow fractionation is a separation technique suitable for nano-sized and micro-sized analytes among which bioanalytes are an important family. The objective of this preliminary study is to start a more general approach to field-flow fractionation for bio-samples by investigation of the correlation between channel surface composition and biosample adhesion. For the first time we report on the use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to study the surface properties of channels of known performance. By XPS, a polar hydrophobic environment was found on PVC material commonly used as accumulation wall in gravitational field-flow fractionation (GrFFF), which explains the low recovery obtained when GrFFF was used to fractionate a biological sample such as Staphylococcus aureus. An increase in separation performance was obtained first by conditioning the accumulation wall with bovine serum albumin and then by using the ion-beam sputtering technique to cover the GrFFF channel surface with a controlled inert film. XPS analysis was also employed to determine the composition of membranes used in hollow-fiber flow field-flow fractionation (HF FlFFF). The results obtained revealed homogeneous composition along the HF FlFFF channel both before and after its use for fractionation of an intact protein such as ferritin.     

综合舰桥系统研究综述

综合舰桥系统（IBS）是在组合导航系统（INS）的基础上发展起来的新一代多功能综合型舰桥系统,综合舰桥系统具有完善的导航、自动驾驶、自动避碰、通信和航行管理控制等多种功能。文中介绍了综合舰桥系统的发展历史,概括了综合舰桥系统的主要研究内容,指出了综合舰桥系统的发展方向,并对综合舰桥系统的发展前景做出了预测,描述了综合舰桥系统的下一代舰桥系统--智能舰桥系统的组成和功能。     

Evolution of structural and magnetic properties of sputtered nanocrystalline Co thin films with thermal annealing

Ultrafine grain films of cobalt prepared using ion-beam sputtering have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflectivity (XRR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements. As-prepared films have very smooth surface owing to the ultrafine nature of the grains. Evolution of the structure and morphology of the film with thermal annealing has been studied and the same is correlated with the magnetic properties. Above an annealing temperature of 300 °C, the film gradually transforms from HCP to FCC phase that remains stable at room temperature. A significant contribution of the surface energy, due to small grain size, results in stabilisation of the FCC phase at room temperature. It is found that other processes like stress relaxation, grain texturing and growth also exhibit an enhanced rate above 300 °C, and may be associated with an enhanced mobility of the atoms above this temperature. Films possess a uniaxial anisotropy, which exhibits a non-monotonous behaviour with thermal annealing. The observed variation in the anisotropy and coercivity with annealing can be understood in terms of variations in the internal stresses, surface roughness, and grain structure.     

TBARS法测定胰岛素口腔喷雾剂中脂质过氧化物研究

采用硫代巴比妥酸反应物法(ThiobarbituricAcidReactiveSubstanceAssay,TBARS)对胰岛素口腔喷雾剂(InsulinBuccalSpray,IBS)中脂质过氧化程度进行了测定,并对IBS前处理方法、稀释倍数、加热作用亦进行了探究。发现在使用丙二醛(Malondialdehyde,MDA)测试盒测量IBS中脂质过氧化物(LipidPeroxide,LPO)实验中,样品应该先用有机溶剂稀释或用含0.8%(m/V)TritonX 100的0.01mol·L-1HCl溶液破乳;而乳剂测量前以稀释10倍为宜。对不同时期的IBS制剂检测,发现在IBS的一年保质期内,其脂质过氧化程度变化不大。     

离子束溅射沉积Ir膜真空紫外反射特性研究

根据吸收材料基底上单层金属膜数学计算模型,对不同基片上各种厚度的Ir膜真空紫外反射率进行了优化计算.采用离子束溅射沉积技术,在石英、K9玻璃和Si基片上沉积了不同厚度的Ir膜,研究了基片、表面厚度、离子束能量及镀后热处理对Ir膜反射率的影响,在波长120 nm处获得了近30％正入射反射率.