Selective pressurized liquid extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls from fat-containing food and feed samples influence of cell dimensions, solvent type, temperature and flush volume

Sulphuric acid impregnated silica was used for the lipid free extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls from fat containing food and feed matrices using pressurized liquid extraction on a Dionex ASE300, with 34 mL cells. Data were compared to a previous publication where extractions had been performed on a Dionex ASE200, with 33 mL cells. Four different fat/fat retainer ratios (FFRs) were tested (0.100, 0.075, 0.050 and 0.025) at 50 and 100 degrees C using n-pentane, n-hexane or n-heptane as extraction solvent. The best results were obtained with a FFR of 0.025 when applying a temperature of 100 degrees C. Both n-pentane and n-heptane were capable of replacing n-hexane as extraction solvent. A flush volume of 60% was sufficient as suggested in US Environmental Protection Agency Method 3545. The applicability of the method was demonstrated for naturally contaminated fish meal as well as various spiked and certified materials.     

Solid-phase synthesis of lipidated peptides

Characteristic partial structures of lipidated proteins embodying different lipid groups as well as additional fluorescent tags or a maleimide for coupling to proteins can be synthesized readily by means of a new solid-phase technique employing the oxidative cleavage of the hydrazide linker as well as on-resin farnesylation and palmitoylation after appropriate deprotection of cysteine thiol groups as the key steps.     

Exploiting C3-symmetry in the dynamic coordination of a chiral trisoxazoline to copper(II): improved enantioselectivity, and catalyst stability in asymmetric lewis acid catalysis

Chiral C3-symmetric trisoxazolines are highly efficient stereodirecting ligands in enantioselective Cu(II) Lewis acid catalysis which is based on the concept of a stereoelectronic hemilability of the divalent copper; in direct comparison with the analogous bisoxazoline systems they are more efficient in the enantioselective alpha-amination as well as the enantioselective Mannich reaction of prochiral beta-ketoesters.     

UHF-CI studies of energy barriers for the abstraction and exchange reactions in the system H + CH4

UHF and CI calculations, using the direct CI method, and double-zeta plus polarization functions basis sets, have been performed on the more important parts of the energy hypersurface for CH₅. The abstraction H + CH₄ → H₂ + CH₃ and the inversion substitution reaction H′ + CH₄ → CH₃H′ + H have been studied in detail. The predicted barriers for these two reactions are 13.5 and 36.6 kcal/mol, respectively. The abstraction reaction is, in agreement with experiment, found to be almost thermo-neutral with a heat of reaction of 1.5 kcal/mol.     

The Morphology of Liquid-Crystalline Polymers and the Possible Consequences for their Rheological Behaviour

Abstract

Polymer liquid crystals can occur as polydomain materials where the domain size may be tens of microns. While the material within each domain may be characterized by a common order parameter, the directors of the domains can be more or less randomly distributed. Since the transition from polydomain to monodomain material only involves the removal of grain boundaries and the alignment of directors, the free energy change must necessarily be small. Such a transition can readily be achieved, therefore, by the action of any external field: electrical, magnetic, stress or surface. In this work optical photomicrographs of polymeric liquid crystals with widely varying and in some cases well controlled morphologies are presented. Probable dependence of rheological behaviour on morphology is also discussed. Such dependence is expected to be considerable under certain conditions. Due to experimental and sample limitations, however, direct correlations of rheology and morphology are sparse. Morphological consequences for the rheology of liquid-crystalline materials can be exemplified by the following possibilities. In contrast to the case of isotropic melts, wall effects can be non-negligible. Zero shear rate rheological parameters are not expected to be uniquely defined quantities since the domain sizes are large and the director may not be effectively averaged over typical sample dimensions. Non-zero shear-rate measurements of rheological parameters is effected by the propensity of: (1) individual domain directors to align under the influence of a stress field and (2) flow alignment to dominate surface-induced alignment above some critical shear rate. The effects might be manifested by a non-newtonian regime as well as yield stress behaviour and thixotropy. The kinetics of relaxation from mono- to poly-domain material has implications for the dynamic response and rheological hysterises of the material.     

A Comparison of Presentation Methods for Reading on Mobile Phones

A study compares two methods of reading text-based content on mobile phones: traditional scroll-based reading and Rapid Serial Visual Presentation, which displays words rapidly in a sequence. University students used a prototype called Feedo to test both methods, and their reading comprehension, efficiency, and preference ratings were measured. The results show that efficiency increases with fast RSVP, comprehension is equal, and preference rating is lower than with self-paced scroll.     

UNICORE 6 — Recent and Future Advancements

UNICORE is a European Grid Technology with more than 10 years of history. Originating from the Supercomputing domain, the latest version UNICORE 6 has turned into a general-purpose Grid technology that follows established standards and offers a rich set of features to its users. The paper starts with an architectural insight into UNICORE 6, highlighting the workflow features, standards and the different clients. Next, the current state of advancement is presented by describing recent developments. The paper closes with an outlook on future planned developments.     

Behavioral Modeling and Simulation of Mixed-Signal System-on-a-Chip using SystemC

We describe an efficient software framework for rapid behavioral modeling and simulation of mixed-signalSystem-on-a-Chip (SoC). The framework is based on the SystemC C++ class libraries and has beenproven to be a very effective tool for exploring different system-level architectures in the early stages of thedesign process. We also present the results of three case studies where we have used the framework: a 10-bit, 60Mega-sample/s pipelined ADC, 14-bit, 100 Mega-sample/s pipelined ADC with background calibration, and aCMOS camera-on-a-chip.     

Vapor Phase Growth of Functional Pentacene Films at Atmospheric Pressure

Compared to traditional vacuum evaporation techniques for small organic molecules, organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD) possesses a extra processing parameter: the pressure of process gas P_ch. Here, the influence of large P_ch variations (from 0.1 mbar to atmospheric pressure) on pentacene thin film growth is explored. OVPD operation at higher P_ch is characterized by lower carrier gas velocities and lower organic diffusivities. These result in an invariance of the material utilization efficiency over the entire pressure span and in an advantageous equilibrium evaporation regime in the source. An increase in P_ch yields rough pentacene layers. Classical nucleation theory is applied to demonstrate how the pressure rise triggers homogeneous nucleation in the gas phase, causing the observed roughening. The use of lower deposition rates, higher dilution flow rates, and higher substrate temperatures result in the suppression of gas phase nucleation and the growth of smooth pentacene films at atmospheric pressure. Using these optimized conditions, state‐of‐the‐art pentacene thin film transistors with saturation mobilities above 0.9 cm²/Vs are reproducibly fabricated. p‐Type circuits are also made and a 19‐stage ring oscillator with a stage delay of 51 μs at a supply voltage of 15 V is demonstrated.