The solid-liquid phase diagrams of binary mixtures of even saturated fatty alcohols

This study is part of a work developed in the author's research group on the solid-liquid equilibrium of fatty substances. The phase diagrams of the following fatty alcohol systems were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC): 1-octanol + 1-dodecanol, 1-octanol + 1-tetradecanol, 1-decanol + 1-tetradecanol, 1-decanol + 1-hexadecanol and 1-dodecanol + 1-octadecanol. The liquidus lines of three of these systems were previously reported in the literature but the other two systems were never published. Moreover other transitions, in addition to the eutectic temperature, were also detected in all the systems. A region of solid solution at the extreme left of the phase diagrams was observed for all the binary mixtures. Polarized light microscopy was used to complement the characterization of the systems for a full grasp of the phase diagrams. The solid-liquid equilibrium was modeled using the Margules 2-suffix, Margules 3-suffix, NRTL and UNIFAC Dortmund equations.     

The xraylib library for X-ray–matter interactions. Recent developments

This work presents the recent developments of xraylib, an ANSI C library that provides convenient access to a large number of X-ray related databases, with a focus on quantitative X-ray fluorescence applications. The enhancements include improved X-ray fluorescence production cross sections that take into account cascade effects and M-lines, as well as revised line energies, atomic level widths, Compton broadening profiles etc. A full overview of the complete application programming interface is presented.     

Chern-flat and Ricci-flat invariant almost Hermitian structures

We study left-invariant almost Hermitian structures on homogeneous spaces having either flat Chern connection or flat Ricci–Chern form. Many examples are carefully described, and a classification is given in low dimensions.     

High speeds complementary integrated circuits fabricated with all‐printed polymeric semiconductors

Inkjet‐printed high speed polymeric complementary circuits are fabricated using an n‐type ([poly{[N,N′‐bis(2‐octyldodecyl)‐naphthalene‐1,4,5,8‐bis(dicarboximide)‐2,6‐diyl]‐alt‐5,5′‐(2,2′‐dithiophene)} [P(NDI2OD‐T2), Polyera ActivInk N2200] and two p‐type polymers [poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and a dithiophene‐based polymer (Polyera ActivInk P2100)]. The top‐gate/bottom‐contact (TG/BC) organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) exhibit well‐balanced and very‐high hole and electron mobilities (μ_FET) of 0.2–0.5 cm²/Vs, which were enabled by optimization of the inkjet‐printed active features, small contact resistance both of electron and hole injections, and effective control over gate dielectrics and its orthogonal solvent effect (selection of poly(methyl methacrylate) and 2‐ethoxyethanol). Our first demonstrated inkjet‐printed polymeric complementary devices have been integrated to high‐performance complementary inverters (gain >30) and ring oscillators (oscillation frequency ～50 kHz). We believe that the operating frequency of printable organic circuits can be further improved more than 10 MHz by fine‐tuning of the device architecture and optimization of the p‐ and n‐channel semiconductor processing. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2010     

Sensory quality, volatile compounds and color of pear juice treated with β-cyclodextrin

The effect of the addition of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), the most used of natural CDs, on the pear juice quality was studied. Several properties of this fruit juice, such as color, odor and aroma have been evaluated in both the absence and presence of β-CD for the first time. A study of the aroma profile of pear juice showed that esters, aldehydes, alcohols and terpenes are the most important chemical families of volatile compounds present in this fruit juice. Furthermore, a trained sensory panel was used to quantify odor/aroma attributes of pear juices in both the presence and absence of increasing β-CD concentrations. The addition of β-CD at a concentration of 15 mM to pear juice significantly increased its global quality, color intensity and reduced its browning but without any significant decrease in aroma. For this reason, a concentration of 15 mM of this type of natural CD is recommended to be used in pear juice manufacturing.     

Graphene growth on h-BN by molecular beam epitaxy

The growth of single layer graphene nanometer size domains by solid carbon source molecular beam epitaxy on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) flakes is demonstrated. Formation of single-layer graphene is clearly apparent in Raman spectra which display sharp optical phonon bands. Atomic-force microscope images and Raman maps reveal that the graphene grown depends on the surface morphology of the h-BN substrates. The growth is governed by the high mobility of the carbon atoms on the h-BN surface, in a manner that is consistent with van der Waals epitaxy. The successful growth of graphene layers depends on the substrate temperature, but is independent of the incident flux of carbon atoms.     

Simple high-performance liquid chromatography method for alpha-tocopherol measurement in Rosmarinus officinalis leaves. New data on alpha-tocopherol content.

A simple HPLC method for vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) measurement in the leaves of Rosmarinus officinalis has been developed and validated. It has enabled new data for alpha-tocopherol content to be established. The leaves, recently harvested, were dried in a microwave oven and crushed; then, alpha-tocopherol was directly extracted from portions of ground material with acetone, by probe sonication. After centrifugation the acetonic extract was analysed by HPLC with ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) added as internal standard and a gradient elution with a Nucleosil C18 column at 35 degrees C. Validation parameters of the method can be considered adequate. For standards: linearity is r=0.999, recovery is 100+/-2%, intra-assay precision has RSD=+/-3% and inter-assay precision has RSD=+/-6%. For samples: linearity is r=0.99, recovery: 93+/-7%, intra-assay precision has RSD=+/-4% and inter-assay precision has RSD=+/-7%.