Quantitative sodium magnetic resonance imaging in food: Addressing sensitivity issues using single quantum chemical shift imaging at high field

According to various health organizations, the global consumption of salt is higher than recommended and needs to be reduced. Ideally, this would be achieved without losing the taste of the salt itself. In order to accomplish this goal, both at the industrial and domestic levels, we need to understand the mechanisms that govern the final distribution of salt in food. The in-silico solutions in use today greatly over-simplify the real food structure. Measuring the quantity of sodium at the local level is key to understanding sodium distribution. Sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a non-destructive approach, is the ideal choice for salt mapping along transformational process. However, the low sensitivity of the sodium nucleus and its short relaxation times make this imaging difficult. In this paper, we show how sodium MRI can be used to highlight salt heterogeneities in food products, provided that the temporal decay is modeled, thus correcting for differences in relaxation speeds. We then propose an abacus which shows the relationship between the signal-to-noise ratio of the sodium MRI, the salt concentration, the B0 field, and the spatial and temporal resolutions. This abacus simplifies making the right choices when implementing sodium MRI.     

A pilot study on the strength of 5Ni−Cr−Mo−V steel columns

These tests were part of an over-all study of the residual stresses in, and the column strength of, welded built-up and rolled heat-treated A514 steel columns. the present investigation on 5Ni?Cr?Mo?V steel extended the previous work on A514 steel columns. The test program consisted of one 10WF112 column tested in the “flat-end” condition, a stub-column test, seven standard tension-coupon tests, ten compression-coupon tests, and two sets of residual-stress measurements at two separate positions along the column. Results show that the stress-strain relationship of this high-toughness alloy steel can be well represented by the Ramberg-Osgood equation, and the column strength can be predicted by using the tangent-modulus concept.     

Dislocations engineering in melt textured oxide superconductors

Several thermomechanical treatments have been used in order to create specific microstructures of dislocations in melt textured grown (MTG) YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 m i /Y 2 BaCuO 5 ceramic superconductors. To by-pass the extreme brittleness of those materials, suitable techniques have to be used in order to increase substantially the dislocation density, in the orthorhombic phase, without promoting crack nucleation. The main features of microstructures obtained using e cold isostatic pressing f , high oxygen pressure anneals and plastic deformation under confining pressure are presented. The effects of applied stresses and phase instability on dislocation configurations are discussed together with the dislocation interactions with mirror twin boundaries. Consequences of those microstructures on the physical properties are also addressed with reference to the signature of each type of the defects.     

Determination of heats of decomposition of some 1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane and 1,3,5-triazacyclohexane derivatives using differential scanning calorimetry

Differential scanning calorimetry was used to determine the heats of decomposition of 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane(HMX), 1,5-diacetyl-3,7-dinitro-1,3, 5,7-tetraazacyclooctane(DADN), 1,5-endomethylene-3,7-dinitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane(DPT), 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane(RDX), 1,3,5-trinitroso-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (R-salt), and 1,5-endomethylene-3,7-dinitroso-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane(DNPT). The value of the decomposition heat of unit mass of sample was found to increase inHMX, DADN andRDX with decreasing degree of filling of the reaction volume. In the R-salt and inDNPT, however, the trend of this dependence was found to be the reverse and more pronounced. No analogous dependence was found to exist forDPT under the given experimental conditions.

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Zusammenfassung Die Bestimmung der Zersetzungswärmen von 1,3,5,7-Tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooktan(HMX), 1,5-Diacetyl-3,7-dinitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooktan(DADN), 1,5-Endomethylen-3,7-dinitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooktan (DPT), 1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexan(RDX), 1,3,5-Trinitroso-1,3,5-triazacyclohexan (R-salz) und 1,5-Endomethylen-3,7-dinitroso-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooktan(DNPT) wurde mittels Differential-Abtastkalorimetrie durchgeführt. Es wurde festgestellt, daß der Wert der Zersetzungswärme der Masseneinheit der Probe beiHMX, DADN undRDX mit abnehmendem Füllungsgrad des Reaktionsvolumens zunimmt. Bei R-salz undDNPT war hingegen die Richtung der Abhängigkeit umgekehrt und stärker. Keine analoge Abhängigkeit wurde fürDPT unter den Bedingungen des obigen Versuchs gefunden.

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Résumé On a déterminé par analyse calorimétrique différentielle les chaleurs de décomposition des composés suivants: 1,3,5,7-tétranitro-1,3,5,7-tétraazacyclooctane (HMX), 1,5-diacé tyle-3,7-dinitro-1,3,5,7-tétraazacyclooctane(DADN), 1,5-endométhylène-3,7-dinitro-1,3,5,7-tétraazacyclooctane(DPT), 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane(RDX), 1,3,5-trinitroso-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (selR) et 1,5-endométhylène-3,7-dinitroso-1,3,5,7-tétraazacyclooctane(DNPT). La valeur de la chaleur de décomposition par masse unité d'échantillon augmente dans le cas deHMX, DADN etRDX, quand le degré de remplissement du volume réactionnel diminue. On a trouvé, cependant, avec le selR et leDNPT, une dépendance inverse et plus prononcée. Aucune dépendance similaire n'a été trouvée, dans les conditions expérimentales appliquées dans le cas duDPT.

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The authors express their gratitude to Mr. Milan Andoga for his precise DSC measurements.     

Liquid–liquid phase separation in aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate homopolymers

Here, the liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) in aqueous solutions containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) methacrylate homopolymers is reported for the first time. In this study, the thermoresponse of concentrated solutions of DEGMA₆₀ (two ethylene glycol, EG, groups) TEGMA₇₁ (three EG groups), OEGMA300_x (4.5 in average EG groups) of varying molar masses (MM), and OEGMA500₂₈ (nine in average EG groups) is discussed. Interestingly, the temperature of LLPS (T_LLPS) is controlled by the length of the PEG side chain, the MM of the OEGMA300_x and the polymer concentration. More specifically, the transition temperature decreases with: (i) Decrease in the length of the PEG side chain, (ii) increase in MM of the OEGMA300_x, and increase in concentration. In addition, LLPS is also observed in mixtures of OEGMA300_x with Pluronic® F127. In conclusion, these systems present a thermally induced LLPS, with the transition temperature being finely tuned to room temperature when DEGMA is used. These systems find potential use in numerous applications, varying from purification to “water-in-water” emulsions.     

Optical spectroscopy of a-plane-oriented ZnO epilayers grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

a-plane ZnO layers were successfully grown, by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, on r-plane (011–2) sapphire substrates. Several features attributed to the A, B and C free excitonic transitions are identified through temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) and reflectivity measurements. The temperature dependence of the peak energy positions of these transitions was studied from 8 K to 300 K. So, the PL peak energy of the A free exciton was plotted and fitted with a Varshni empirical equation. In the σ polarization (E⊥c), for which A and B are allowed, the reflectivity spectrum measured at 8 K was fitted by using a program based on the theory of the spatial resonance dispersion Hopfield model. Our results indicate that the A and B free excitonic features are at a higher energy than those in ZnO on c-oriented sapphire and show a good PL even at 250 K. These results also show that the new and intense emission peak observed in the region of the first phonon replica (3.33–3.28 eV) and identified as a stacking fault in the epilayer disappears at high temperature above 150 K.     

Antibacterial and antioxidant constituents of Acalypha wilkesiana

This study was aimed at characterising the secondary metabolites responsible for antibacterial and antioxidant activities of Acalypha wilkesiana. Purification of the defatted methanol leaves extract was guided by the DPPH free radical scavenging assay as well as by evaluation of the antibacterial activity against four bacterial strains. As a result, geraniin, corilagin, quadrangularic acid M and shikimic acid were purified and isolated. Shikimic acid, reported for the first time from this plant, proved to be the major metabolite of the extract. All the four isolated compounds showed bactericidal activity against extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (700603), while corilagin was the single compound to exhibit antioxidant activity (IC₅₀ 53 μg/mL).     

Engineering of CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite Crystals by Alloying Large Organic Cations for Enhanced Thermal Stability and Transport Properties

The number of studies on organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites has soared in recent years. However, the majority of hybrid perovskites under investigation are based on a limited number of organic cations of suitable sizes, such as methylammonium and formamidinium. These small cations easily fit into the perovskite's three‐dimensional (3D) lead halide framework to produce semiconductors with excellent charge transport properties. Until now, larger cations, such as ethylammonium, have been found to form 2D crystals with lead halide. Here we show for the first time that ethylammonium can in fact be incorporated coordinately with methylammonium in the lattice of a 3D perovskite thanks to a balance of opposite lattice distortion strains. This inclusion results in higher crystal symmetry, improved material stability, and markedly enhanced charge carrier lifetime. This crystal engineering strategy of balancing opposite lattice distortion effects vastly increases the number of potential choices of organic cations for 3D perovskites, opening up new degrees of freedom to tailor their optoelectronic and environmental properties.     

Lindelöf spaces which are indestructible, productive, or D

We discuss relationships in Lindelöf spaces among the properties “indestructible”, “productive”, “D”, and related properties.