Development of a Novel Microwave Distillation Technique for the Isolation of Cannabis sativa L. Essential Oil and Gas Chromatography Analyses for the Comprehensive Characterization of Terpenes and Terpenoids,Including Their Enantio-Distribution

A microwave distillation method was optimized for the extraction and isolation of cannabis essential oil from fresh and dried hemp inflorescences. The developed method enabled us to obtain a distilled product rich in terpenes and terpenoid compounds, responsible of the typical and unique smell of the cannabis plant. The distillate from different hemp cultivars, including Kompolti, Futura 75, Carmagnola, Felina 32 and Finola were characterized by using a gas chromatograph equipped with both mass spectrometer and flame ionization detectors. In a single chromatographic run, the identity and absolute amounts of distilled compounds were determined. Peak assignment was established using a reliable approach based on the usage of two identification parameters, named reverse match, and linear retention index filter. Absolute quantification (mg g⁻¹) of the analytes was performed using an internal standard method applying the flame ionization detector (FID) response factors according to each chemical family. An enantio-GC-MS method was also developed in order to evaluate the enantiomeric distribution of chiral compounds, an analytical approach commonly utilized for establishing the authenticity of suspicious samples.     

A Unified Approach to Local Quantum Uncertainty and Interferometric Power by Metric Adjusted Skew Information

Local quantum uncertainty and interferometric power were introduced by Girolami et al. as geometric quantifiers of quantum correlations. The aim of the present paper is to discuss their properties in a unified manner by means of the metric adjusted skew information defined by Hansen.     

Transition Metal-Promoted Reactions in Aqueous Media and Biological Settings

During the last decade, there has been a tremendous interest for developing non-natural biocompatible transformations in biologically relevant media. Among the different encountered strategies, the use of transition metal complexes offers unique possibilities due to their high transformative power. However, translating the potential of metal catalysts to biological settings, including living cells or small-animal models such as mice or zebrafish, poses numerous challenges associated to their biocompatibility, and their stability and reactivity in crowded aqueous environments. Herein, we describe the most relevant advances in this direction, with a particular emphasis on the systems’ structure, their mode of action and the mechanistic bases of each transformation. Thus, the key challenges from an organometallic perspective might be more easily identified.     

Ultrafast Delamination of Graphite into High-Quality Graphene Using Alternating Currents

To bridge the gap between laboratory-scale studies and commercial applications, mass production of high quality graphene is essential. A scalable exfoliation strategy towards the production of graphene sheets is presented that has excellent yield (ca. 75 %, 1–3 layers), low defect density (a C/O ratio of 21.2), great solution-processability, and outstanding electronic properties (a hole mobility of 430 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). By applying alternating currents, dual exfoliation at both graphite electrodes enables a high production rate exceeding 20 g h⁻¹ in laboratory tests. As a cathode material for lithium storage, graphene-wrapped LiFePO₄ particles deliver a high capacity of 167 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 C rate after 500 cycles.     

Anthropogenic and solar forcing in δ13C time pattern of coralline sponges

We present the results of a re-analysis of a previously published carbon isotope data-set related to coralline sponges in the Caribbean Sea. The original interpretation led to the discrimination between a pre-industrial period, with a signal controlled by solar-induced climatic variations, followed by the industrial era, characterized by a progressive δ¹³C negative shift due to the massive anthropogenic carbon emissions. Our re-analysis allowed to extract from the raw isotopic data evidence of a solar forcing still visible during the industrial era, with a particular reference to the 88-year Gleissberg periods. These signals are related to slope changes in both the δ¹³C versus time and the δ¹³C versus carbon emission curves.     

The role of the Ekenstam equation on the kinetics of cellulose hydrolytic degradation

The meaning of the Ekenstam equation (1/DP − 1/DP°) = kt is shortly discussed. Several misleading statements about its application to cellulose hydrolysis are underlined in order to improve the reliability of kinetic analyses. To this end, some further simple analyses are suggested to the experimentalists.     

Heat Release by Controlled Continuous-Time Markov Jump Processes

We derive the equations governing the protocols minimizing the heat released by a continuous-time Markov jump process on a one-dimensional countable state space during a transition between assigned initial and final probability distributions in a finite time horizon. In particular, we identify the hypotheses on the transition rates under which the optimal control strategy and the probability distribution of the Markov jump problem obey a system of differential equations of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman-type. As the state-space mesh tends to zero, these equations converge to those satisfied by the diffusion process minimizing the heat released in the Langevin formulation of the same problem. We also show that in full analogy with the continuum case, heat minimization is equivalent to entropy production minimization. Thus, our results may be interpreted as a refined version of the second law of thermodynamics.