Phenolic content and in vitro antifungal activity of unripe grape extracts from agro-industrial wastes

The antifungal activity of unripe grape extracts from agro-industrial wastes has been evaluated against several strains of Candida spp. and dermatophytes. All the extracts tested showed antifungal activity. The geometric mean MIC ranged from 53.58 to 214.31 μg/mL for Candida spp. and from 43.54 to 133.02 μg/mL for dermatophytes. The chemical analyses have been carried out using Liquid Chromatograph equipped with a DAD and MS detectors. Flavan-3-ols were the main metabolites within all samples ranged from 3.3 to 6.8 mg/g fresh weight. For Candida spp. highest negative significant correlation has been found between MICs and polymeric flavan-3-ols (r = ?0.842; p < 0.001) and for dermatophytes between MICs and caffeoyl derivatives (r = ?0.962; p < 0.01). The results indicate that total extracts obtained from unripe grapes, a large source of waste material derived from the wine industry, could be used as a cheap source of value-added products.     

The influence of the substrate nature on the iron repartition in the titania matrix

Fe-doped titania films were deposited by RF sputtering onto different substrates (glass and ITO/glass) in the same deposition run. The rutile nanocrystalline structure of Fe-doped thin films deposited on glass substrates and anatase nanocrystalline structure of Fe-doped thin films deposited on ITO/glass substrates were evidenced by XRD. SEM investigations showed a smooth surface with a dense nanostructure. XPS study evidenced an almost stoichiometric composition with different iron contents. EPR and XPS studies evidenced that iron entered into TiO₂ lattice by substitution, as isolated and dimer species. In Fe-doped thin films deposited on ITO/glass substrates the iron content is ten times higher than in Fe-doped thin films deposited on glass substrates and that a part of them entered as Fe²⁺.     

Homological methods for hypergeometric families

We analyze the behavior of the holonomic rank in families of holonomic systems over complex algebraic varieties by providing homological criteria for rank-jumps in this general setting. Then we investigate rank-jump behavior for hypergeometric systems  arising from a integer matrix  and a parameter . To do so we introduce an Euler-Koszul functor for hypergeometric families over  , whose homology generalizes the notion of a hypergeometric system, and we prove a homology isomorphism with our general homological construction above. We show that a parameter is rank-jumping for if and only if lies in the Zariski closure of the set of -graded degrees  where the local cohomology of the semigroup ring supported at its maximal graded ideal  is nonzero. Consequently, has no rank-jumps over  if and only if is Cohen-Macaulay of dimension .

     

Controlled texturing modifies the surface topography and plasmonic properties of Au nanoshells

We report a facile and controllable method for the postfabrication texturing of the surface topography of Au nanoshells based on site-selective chemical etching of the polycrystalline Au nanoshell surface by a bifunctional alkanethiol molecule, cysteamine. This nanoscale surface texturing process systematically introduces dramatic changes to the plasmonic properties of the Au nanoshells. The modification of the plasmon resonant properties of nanoshells as a function of increased surface roughness was examined experimentally and modeled theoretically using three-dimensional finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations.     

Period-doubling behavior in frontal polymerization of multifunctional acrylates

Front dynamics in the frontal polymerization of two multifunctional acrylate monomers, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) and trimethylolpropane ethoxylate triacrylate (TMPTA), with Lupersol 231 [1,1-di(t-butylperoxy)-3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexane] as the initiator, are studied. In most frontal polymerization systems, the dynamics are associated with a planar front propagating through the sample. However, in some cases, front behavior can be altered: the front becomes nonplanar characterized by complex patterns like spin modes and pulsations. To determine how these periodic and aperiodic modes arise, reactant solutions consisting of HDDA diluted with diethyl phthalate (DEP) and TMPTA diluted with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were used in the study. In the study we reveal frontal behavior characteristic of period-doubling behavior, a doubling of spin heads that degenerate into an apparently chaotic mode. Also, a pulsating symmetric mode has been observed. These observations have a striking similarity to observations made in studies of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) in which the addition of an inert diluent afforded a rich variety of dynamical behavior. The degree of cross-linking has also been found to be a bifurcation parameter. The energy of activation of multifunctional acrylate polymerization is a strong function of the degree of polymerization. By adding a monoacrylate (benzyl acrylate: BzAc), such that the front temperature was invariant, we observed a period-doubling bifurcation sequence through changes in the energy of activation, which has not been previously reported. (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics.     

In vitro antifungal activity of extracts obtained from Hypericum perforatum adventitious roots cultured in a mist bioreactor against planktonic cells and biofilm of Malassezia furfur

Xanthone-rich extracts from Hypericum perforatum root cultures grown in a Mist Bioreactor as antifungal agents against Malassezia furfur.

Extracts of Hypericum perforatum roots grown in a bioreactor showed activity against planktonic cells and biofilm of Malassezia furfur. Dried biomass, obtained from roots grown under controlled conditions in a ROOTec mist bioreactor, has been extracted with solvents of increasing polarity (i.e. chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol). The methanolic fraction was the richest in xanthones (2.86 ± 0.43 mg g^? 1 DW) as revealed by HPLC. The minimal inhibitory concentration of the methanol extract against M. furfur planktonic cells was 16 μg mL^? 1. The inhibition percentage of biofilm formation, at a concentration of 16 μg mL^? 1, ranged from 14% to 39%. The results show that H. perforatum root extracts could be used as new antifungal agents in the treatment of Malassezia infections.     

The influence of photo initiators on refractive index and glass transition temperature of optically and rheologically adjusted acrylate based polymers

A material system with individually adjustable rheological and optical properties is presented. The optical transmission and refractive indices of the material were modified, and viscosities were investigated at different temperatures and shear rates. Furthermore, two UV‐sensitive photo initiators were analysed with respect to their effect on the polymerization behaviour of the material system. The refractive indices of the material system were adjusted between 1.513 < n_D,20 < 1.595, with optical transmittances of up to 90% within the UV‐VIS region (400 nm < λ < 800 nm). Two photo initiators, Diphenyl(2,4,6‐trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide and Bis(2,4,6‐trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide, were investigated, and viscosity was modified at 20 °C between 0.002 Pa · s < η < 87 Pa · s. The glass transition temperature of the polymerized samples was determined to be between 40 °C and 50 °C. Results showed that Diphenyl(2,4,6‐trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide exhibited more effective polymerization compared to Bis(2,4,6‐trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide. The addition of phenanthrene to the mixtures increased the refractive index with ?n = 0.02, whilst the viscosity was decreased by a small amount. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Condensation Phase Transition in Random Graph Coloring

Based on a non-rigorous formalism called the “cavity method”, physicists have put forward intriguing predictions on phase transitions in diluted mean-field models, in which the geometry of interactions is induced by a sparse random graph or hypergraph. One example of such a model is the graph coloring problem on the Erd?s–Renyi random graph G(n, d/n), which can be viewed as the zero temperature case of the Potts antiferromagnet. The cavity method predicts that in addition to the k-colorability phase transition studied intensively in combinatorics, there exists a second phase transition called the condensation phase transition (Krzakala et al. in Proc Natl Acad Sci 104:10318–10323, 2007). In fact, there is a conjecture as to the precise location of this phase transition in terms of a certain distributional fixed point problem. In this paper we prove this conjecture for k exceeding a certain constant k₀.     

Cu nanoshells: effects of interband transitions on the nanoparticle plasmon resonance

The optical properties of metals arise both from optical excitation of interband transitions and their collective electronic, or plasmon, response. Here, we examine the optical properties of Cu, whose strong interband transitions dominate its optical response in the visible region of the spectrum, in a nanoshell geometry. This nanostructure permits the geometrical tuning of the nanoparticle plasmon energy relative to the onset of interband transitions in the metal. Spectral overlap of the interband transitions of Cu with the nanoshell plasmon resonance results in a striking double-peaked plasmon resonance, a unique phenomenon previously unobserved in other noble or coinage metal nanostructures.     

Serine-cis-proline and serine-trans-proline isosteres: stereoselective synthesis of (Z)- and (E)-alkene mimics by Still-Wittig and Ireland-Claisen rearrangements

Two new amide isosteres of Ser-cis-Pro and Ser-trans-Pro dipeptides were designed and stereoselectively synthesized to be incorporated into potential inhibitors of the phosphorylation-dependent peptidylprolyl isomerase Pin1, an essential regulator of the cell cycle. The cis mimic, the (Z)-alkene isomer, was formed through the use of a Still-Wittig [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, while the trans mimic, the (E)-alkene, was synthesized through the use of an Ireland-Claisen [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement. Starting from N-Boc-Ser(OBn)-N(OMe)Me, both mimics were synthesized in Boc-protected form suitable for peptide synthesis with an overall yield of 20% in 10 steps for the cis mimic and 13% in eight steps for the trans mimic.