Green Tea Versus Traditional Korean Teas: Antibacterial/Antifungal or Both?

The feasibility of utilizing the antimicrobial activity of naturally available teas was studied. Eleven teas including 2 green teas and 9 other traditional Korean mixed teas were tested for their antimicrobial properties. Antibacterial and antifungal properties were assessed. The results showed that green teas possessed significant antifungal and antibacterial properties, while most of the mixed teas showed some amount of antifungal activity and almost insignificant antibacterial properties. Confocal microscopic imaging revealed mycelial damage as well as attack on sporophores rather than spores/spore germination to be the reason behind the antifungal activity. EGCG was identified as the crucial catechin for antimicrobial activity. The study confirmed that green tea had a clear edge over the traditional mixed teas when it comes to antimicrobial activity.     

Preparation of 4-sulfonylcalix[6]arene modified Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> as adsorbent for adsorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution

The 4-sulfonylcalix[6]arene modified Fe₃O₄ (MFS) was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, VSM, TGA, etc., which showed that its saturation magnetization was 64.99 emu g^?1 with the particle size 10–40 nm. The maximum adsorption efficiency by MFS for 2.5 mg L^?1 U(VI) solution amounted to 94.39%, which was higher than that by Fe₃O₄ (65.22%) under its optimum adsorption conditions. The adsorption of MFS and Fe₃O₄ were both followed the pseudo-second order model and the Langmuir isotherm model. The Gibbs free energy change and enthalpy change revealed that the adsorption of U(VI) by MFS was a spontaneous and endothermic process.     

Development of simultaneous analysis of tryptophan metabolites in serum and gastric juice – an investigation towards establishing a biomarker test for gastric cancer diagnosis

To evaluate changes in tryptophan metabolism and discover diagnostic biomarkers for gastric cancer, a quantitative method was developed for tryptophan and its seven metabolites (indole‐3‐lactic acid, anthranilic acid, serotonin, nicotinic acid, kynurenic acid, kynurenine and 3‐indoxyl sulfate) in both human serum and gastric juice using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Serum and gastric juice were prepared with a simple protein precipitation using aqueous 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile. As a result, it was found that the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism was activated in gastric cancer and that the metabolic ratio of kynurenine/tryptophan, which reflects the enzyme activity of indoleamine‐2,3‐dioxygenase, was associated with the observed metabolic changes. Finally, the investigation of tryptophan metabolites, especially kynurenic acid, in serum and gastric juice might serve as biomarkers for gastric cancer. The findings in this study provide critical information of tryptophan metabolism which can be applied to a serum‐based diagnostic test for gastric cancer.     

Optical pulse shaper with integrated slab waveguide for arbitrary waveform generation using optical gradient force

Integrated optical pulse shaper opens up possibilities for realizing the ultra high-speed and ultra wide-band linear signal processing with compact size and low power consumption. We propose a silicon monolithic integrated optical pulse shaper using optical gradient force, which is based on the eight-path finite impulse response. A cantilever structure is fabricated in one arm of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer（MZI） to act as an amplitude modulator. The phase shift feature of waveguide is analyzed with the optical pump power, and five typical waveforms are demonstrated with the manipulation of optical force. Unlike other pulse shaper schemes based on thermo–optic effect or electro–optic effect, our scheme is based on a new degree of freedom manipulation, i.e., optical force, so no microelectrodes are required on the silicon chip,which can reduce the complexity of fabrication. Besides, the chip structure is suitable for commercial silicon on an insulator（SOI） wafer, which has a top silicon layer of about 220 nm in thickness.     

Actuation design for high‐performance shape memory polyurethanes

A series of shape memory polyurethanes were synthesized from poly(tetramethylene glycol), 4,4‐methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, and 1,3‐butanediol. The prepolymers with different molecular weights (M_c) were capped with 2‐hydroxyl ethylacrylate or 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and crosslinked by UV curing or a sol–gel reaction. Variations of the crosslinker functionality (f), subchain density (N), and hard segment content (HSC) produced systematic variations of the glass transition temperature (6–45 °C), accompanied by changes in the mechanical, dynamic mechanical and shape memory properties. More than 95% of shape fixity and 98% of shape recovery up to the fourth cycles were obtained with APTES crosslinked 3000M_c with 30% of HSC. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013 , 51, 1473–1479     

Electrochemical Aptasensor for Zearalenone Based on DNA Assembly and Exonuclease III as Amplification Strategy

A sensitively electrochemical aptasensor was developed to detect zearalenone, utilizing DNA assembly based on hybridization chain reaction to amplify the signal current and exonuclease III to reduce the background current. The linear range 5.0×10⁻⁵ ng/mL-50 ng/mL, and the limit of detection is 0.013 pg/mL. The fabricated aptasensor showed the high specificity toward aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), fumonisin B1 (FB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA), good repeatability and reproducibility. In addition, the average recoveries of spiked corn and beer samples were in the range of 89 % to 102 %. The established method is of great significance in the field of food safety detection.