Pressurized Hot Water Extraction and Bio-Hydrogels Formulation with Aristotelia chilensis [Mol.] Stuntz Leaves

Aristotelia chilensis is a plant rich in phenolics and other bioactive compounds. Their leaves are discarded as waste in the maqui berry industry. A new application of these wastes is intended by the recovery of bioactive compounds using pressurized hot water extraction with conventional or microwave heating. Both technologies have been selected for their green character regarding the type of solvent and the high efficiency in shorter operation times. Extractions were performed in the temperature range 140–200 °C with a solid/liquid ratio of 1:15 (w:w). The extracts’ total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and saccharides content obtained with both heating methods were measured. Additionally, the thermo-rheological properties of the gelling matrix enriched with these extracts were analyzed. Optimum conditions for lyophilized extracts were found with conventional heating, at 140 °C and 20 min extraction; 250.0 mg GAE/g dry extract and 1321.5 mg Trolox/g dry extract. Close to optimum performance was achieved with microwave heating in a fraction of the time (5 min) at 160 °C (extraction), yielding extracts with 231.9 mg GAE/g dry extract of total phenolics and antiradical capacity equivalent to 1176.3 mg Trolox/g dry extract. Slightly higher antioxidant values were identified for spray-dried extracts (between 5% for phenolic content and 2.5% for antioxidant capacity). The extracts obtained with both heating methods at 200 °C contained more than 20% oligosaccharides, primarily glucose. All the formulated gelling matrices enriched with the obtained extracts displayed intermediate gel strength properties. The tested technologies efficiently recovered highly active antioxidant extracts, rich in polyphenolics, and valuable for formulating gelling matrices with potential applicability in foods and other products.     

The Quantum Geometric Tensor in a Parameter-Dependent Curved Space

We introduce a quantum geometric tensor in a curved space with a parameter-dependent metric, which contains the quantum metric tensor as the symmetric part and the Berry curvature corresponding to the antisymmetric part. This parameter-dependent metric modifies the usual inner product, which induces modifications in the quantum metric tensor and Berry curvature by adding terms proportional to the derivatives with respect to the parameters of the determinant of the metric. The quantum metric tensor is obtained in two ways: By using the definition of the infinitesimal distance between two states in the parameter-dependent curved space and via the fidelity susceptibility approach. The usual Berry connection acquires an additional term with which the curved inner product converts the Berry connection into an object that transforms as a connection and density of weight one. Finally, we provide three examples in one dimension with a nontrivial metric: an anharmonic oscillator, a Morse-like potential, and a generalized anharmonic oscillator; and one in two dimensions: the coupled anharmonic oscillator in a curved space.     

Prescription of General Defective Boundary Conditions in Fluid-Dynamics

This work reviews and extends to a more general setting some strategies to impose defective boundary conditions in fluid-dynamic problems investigated by the authors in the last years. We focus here to the steady Stokes problem. We show the well posedness of the proposed approaches and discuss their relative benefits.     

Degradation studies of quetiapine fumarate by liquid chromatography–diode array detection and tandem mass spectrometry methods

Quetiapine fumarate (QUE) is an antipsychotic agent with a chemical structure that is susceptible to degradation; therefore, it is important to study its stability using appropriate analytical tools. Knowledge of the stability profile of a drug is important because chemical degradation of its active component often results in a loss of potency, affecting its efficacy and safety. This current work reports degradation studies of QUE as drug substance, under different stress conditions such as oxidation, hydrolysis, heat, humidity and photolysis, by a stability‐indicating LC method. The chemical stability was evaluated using a simple HPLC/diode array detection method, with a core‐shell C₁₈ column under isocratic conditions, which allows the separation of all primary degradation products (DPs) in a short run time. QUE was mainly degraded under oxidative and hydrolytic conditions, with the formation of three and two DPs, respectively, which were identified by electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry. The method was properly validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, selectivity, robustness and quantitation limit. Commercial tablets containing 25 mg of QUE were quantified, with results obtained within the United States Pharmacopeia limits. The proposed method is suitable to assess the stability and perform routine analysis of QUE in pharmaceutical samples.     

Algebras of bounded operators on nonclassical orthomodular spaces

A Hermitian space is called orthomodular if the Projection Theorem holds: every orthogonally closed subspace is an orthogonal summand. Besides the familiar real or complex Hilbert spaces there are non-classical infinite dimensional examples constructed over certain non-Archimedeanly valued, complete fields. We study bounded linear operators on such spaces. In particular we construct an operator algebraA of von Neumann type that contains no orthogonal projections at all. For operators inA we establish a representation theorem from which we deduce thatA is commutative. We then focus on a subalgebra which turns out to be an integral domain with unique maximal ideal. Both analytic and topological characterizations of are given.     

New polycatenar Schiff bases derived from 1,3,4-thiadiazole: synthesis,mesomorphism and luminescence behaviour

Two new series of columnar liquid crystal materials based on tetra- and hexacatenar Schiff bases were synthesised by reaction of 4-aminophenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives with terephthalaldehyde (series 2a–f) and with 2,5-thiophenedicarbaldehyde (series 3a–f). The mesomorphic properties of these compounds were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarised optical microscopy (POM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mesomorphic behaviour was found to be dependent on the nature of the central ring (benzene in series 2a–f, thiophene in series 3a–f), on length and on number of alkoxy chains. Both tetra- and hexacatenar compounds in series 2a–f display an enantiotropic hexagonal columnar phase. Whereas, in the case of the series 3, only the tetracatenar Schiff bases (3a, 3c and 3e) display enantiotropic hexagonal columnar mesomorphism, hexacatenar Schiff bases (3b, 3d and 3f) do not show mesomorphic properties. Photophysical studies were realised in solution and in solid state. Also, a thermogravimetric analysis was performed. A fibre obtained from compound 3b was analysed by POM showing that the mesophase is maintained in the fibre.     

Facile approach to graphene oxide and poly(N-vinylcarbazole) electro-patterned films

A facile approach of making scalable nanocomposite and electro-patterned films using graphene oxide (GO) and poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) is reported. The method involves the layering of polystyrene colloidal templates, electrodeposition of the composite film on template array, and finally removal of the sacrificial templates to reveal the patterned GO-PVK arrays.     

Polycrystalline lead selenide: the resurgence of an old infrared detector

The existing technology for uncooled MWIR photon detectors based on polycrystalline lead salts is stigmatized for being a 50-year-old technology. It has been traditionally relegated to single-element detectors and relatively small linear arrays due to the limitations imposed by its standard manufacture process based on a chemical bath deposition technique (CBD) developed more than 40 years ago. Recently, an innovative method for processing detectors, based on a vapour phase deposition (VPD) technique, has allowed manufacturing the first 2D array of polycrystalline PbSe with good electro optical characteristics. The new method of processing PbSe is an all silicon technology and it is compatible with standard CMOS circuitry. In addition to its affordability, VPD PbSe constitutes a perfect candidate to fill the existing gap in the photonic and uncooled IR imaging detectors sensitive to the MWIR photons. The perspectives opened are numerous and very important, converting the old PbSe detector in a serious alternative to others uncooled technologies in the low cost IR detection market. The number of potential applications is huge, some of them with high commercial impact such as personal IR imagers, enhanced vision systems for automotive applications and other not less important in the security/defence domain such as sensors for active protection systems (APS) or low cost seekers. Despite the fact, unanimously accepted, that uncooled will dominate the majority of the future IR detection applications, today, thermal detectors are the unique plausible alternative. There is plenty of room for photonic uncooled and complementary alternatives are needed. This work allocates polycrystalline PbSe in the current panorama of the uncooled IR detectors, underlining its potentiality in two areas of interest, i.e., very low cost imaging IR detectors and MWIR fast uncooled detectors for security and defence applications. The new method of processing again converts PbSe into an emerging technology.     

Symmetric esters derived from 1,3,4-oxadiazole: synthesis, mesomorphic properties and structural study by semi-empirical calculations

Three homologous series of symmetric esters derived from 2-alkylthio-5-( p -hydroxy)phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole (series 3 , 4 and 5 ) were synthesized and their liquid crystalline properties investigated by optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Depending on the chain length, nematic and smectic C phases were observed in the series 3 ; smectic A and smectic C phases in series 4 . None of the homologues of series 5 shows mesomorphic properties. These three series are compared with other previously reported oxadiazoles. A structural study of AM1 semi-empirical calculations is also described.