Potassium sorbate release from poly(vinyl alcohol)-bacterial cellulose films

Active packaging materials are the subject of research because their performance exceeds that of traditional packaging. From this class, antimicrobial materials extend the shelf-life of products and reduce the risk of contamination by pathogens. In this paper, new composite materials with antimicrobial properties are obtained by using polyvinyl alcohol and bacterial cellulose powder. Potassium (2E,4E)-hexa-2,4-dienoate was used as the antimicrobial agent. The films thus obtained were characterised using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Mass transfer phenomena concerning the release of potassium (2E,4E)-hexa-2,4-dienoate were investigated. The results indicated that the new biocomposite films could be used as antimicrobial packaging materials.     

On the Weyl curvature hypothesis

The Weyl curvature hypothesis of Penrose attempts to explain the high homogeneity and isotropy, and the very low entropy of the early universe, by conjecturing the vanishing of the Weyl tensor at the Big-Bang singularity.     

Beyond the Friedmann-Lemaâtre-Robertson-Walker Big Bang Singularity

Einstein's equation,in its standard form,breaks down at the Big Bang singularity.A new version,equivalent to Einstein's whenever the latter is defined,but applicable in wider situations,is proposed.The new equation remains smooth at the Big Bang singularity of the Friedmann-Lemaâtre-Robertson-Walker model.It is a tensor equation defined in terms of the Ricci part of the Riemann curvature.It is obtained by taking the Kulkarni-Nomizu product between Einstein's equation and the metric tensor.     

Stability and robustness properties of a class of discrete–time residual generators

The aim of this paper is to present a design methodology for an observer–based fault detection filter. This approach allows to compute a filter gain such that both fault detection and disturbance attenuation requirements are accomplished. The developments are based on H_∞ optimization in the discrete–time framework. The existence conditions for the observer–based detection filter are expressed in terms of feasibility of a system of matrix inequalities. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Elastic moduli inheritance and the weakest link in bulk metallic glasses

We show that a variety of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) inherit their Young's modulus and shear modulus from the solvent components. This is attributed to preferential straining of locally solvent-rich configurations among tightly bonded atomic clusters, which constitute the weakest link in an amorphous structure. This aspect of inhomogeneous deformation, also revealed by our in situ neutron diffraction studies of an elastically deformed BMG, suggests a rubberlike viscoelastic behavior due to a hierarchy of atomic bonds in BMGs.     

Covert underwater acoustic communications

Low probability of detection (LPD) communications are conducted at a low received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to deter eavesdroppers to sense the presence of the transmitted signal. Successful detection at intended receiver heavily relies on the processing gain achieved by employing the direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technique. For scenarios that lack a sufficiently low SNR to maintain LPD, another metric, referred to as low probability of interception (LPI), is of interest to protect the privacy of the transmitted information. If covert communications take place in underwater acoustic (UWA) environments, then additional challenges are present. The time-varying nature of the UWA channel prevents the employment of a long spreading waveform. Furthermore, UWA environments are frequency-selective channels with long memory, which imposes challenges to the design of the spreading waveform. In this paper, a covert UWA communication system that adopts the DSSS technique and a coherent RAKE receiver is investigated. Emphasis is placed on the design of a spreading waveform that not only accounts for the transceiver structure and frequency-selective nature of the UWA channel, but also possesses a superior LPI. The proposed techniques are evaluated using both simulated and SPACE'08 in-water experimental data.     

Substance separation by the action of a pulsed ir laser radiation on gas-mixture flows through capillaries

New aspects of substance separation by the laser driven diffusion of gaseous mixtures through capillaries are presented. By using the chopped radiation of a low power CO₂ laser, the experimental dependence of the separation coefficient on the pulse frequency in mixtures containing resonant and non-resonant gases was investigated. The induced effects agree with a model in which the number density of adsorbed molecules should be connected to temporal characteristics of the radiation. By avoiding heating effects, a pulsed laser irradiation may provide a new approach related to the practical purposes of substance separation in metal capillaries.     

Effect of the manufacturing parameters on the structure of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes produced by catalytic laser-induced chemical vapor deposition

Series of self-assembled and mono-dispersed bovine serum albumin (BSA)-conjugated ZnS/CuS nano-composites with different Zn/Cu ratios had been successfully synthesized by a combination method of the biomimetic synthesis and ion-exchange strategy under the gentle conditions. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy observation, Fourier transform infrared spectra and zeta potential analysis demonstrated that BSA-conjugated ZnS/CuS nano-composites with well dispersity had the hierarchical structure and BSA was a key factor to control the morphology and surface electro-negativity of final products. The real-time monitoring by atomic absorption spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction revealed that the Zn/Cu ratio of nano-composites could be controlled by adjusting the ion-exchange time. In addition, the metabolic and morphological assays indicated that the metabolic proliferation and spread of rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells could be inhibited by nano-composites, with the high anti-cancer activity at a low concentration (4 ppm). What were more important, Zn and Cu in nano-composites exhibited a positive cooperativity at inhibiting cancer cell functions. The microscope observation and biochemical marker analysis clearly revealed that the nano-composites-included lipid peroxidation and disintegration of membrane led to the death of PC12 cells. Summarily, the present study substantiated the potential of BSA-conjugated ZnS/CuS nano-composites as anti-cancer drug.     

PHASE SHIFT INTERFEROMETRY FOR ACCURATE TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT AROUND A VAPOR BUBBLE

An interferometric measurement technique for determining accurately the temperature field around an axial symmetric vapor bubble that might be used for boiling investigations was developed. The specific setup of optical components and the fluid test cell for the generation of a single vapor bubble are described. The procedure and main steps to derive an accurate temperature field from the recorded interferograms are explained in detail. These are: wrapped phase calculation based on a four frames algorithm, phase unwrapping using Itoh algorithm, and Abe inversion for the calculation of the local temperatures. The results from interferometry are verified by point wise measurements using micro-thermocouples. Compared to formerly applied measurement techniques the presented phase shift interferometry leads to higher accuracy and higher spatial resolution.     

Winning “Big” in the St. Petersburg Game

Mathematical Notes - We present a self-contained and easy to follow proof for the value of the probability of large gains of a player in the celebrated St. Petersburg game.