Effects of thermo-hygro-mechanical densification on the surface characteristics of trembling aspen and hybrid poplar wood veneers

The effect of thermo-hygro-mechanical (THM) densification temperature on the surface color, roughness, wettability, and chemical composition of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and hybrid poplar (Populus maximowiczii × P. balsamifera) veneers was investigated. Veneers were subjected to four THM densification temperatures (160 °C, 180 °C, 200 °C, and 220 °C). Veneer color darkened with increasing THM densification temperature. Surface roughness decreased between 160 °C and 200 °C. Wettability decreased after THM densification, but no significant difference was found between treated specimens. ATR-FTIR and XPS results confirmed that THM densification caused major chemical changes in veneer surfaces, and more pronounced at temperatures higher than 160 °C.     

On the inverse of certain patterned sums of matrices with Kronecker product structures

In this article, we derive explicit expressions for the entries of the inverse of a patterned matrix that is a sum of Kronecker products. This matrix keeps the Kronecker structure under matrix inversion, and it is used, for example, in statistics, in particular in the linear mixed model analysis. The obtained results present new and extended existing algorithms for the inversion of the considered patterned matrices. We also obtain a closed-form inverse in terms of block matrices.     

Convex additively slowly varying functions

We study the problem of subtraction of slowly varying functions. It is well-known that the difference of two slowly varying functions need not be slowly varying and we look for some additional conditions which guarantee the slow variation of the difference. To this end we consider all possible decompositions L=F+G of a given increasing convex additively slowly varying function L into a sum of two increasing convex functions F and G. We characterize the class of functions L for which in every such decomposition the summands are necessarily additively slowly varying. The class OΠ₂⁺ we obtain is related to the well-known class OΠ_g where, instead of first order differences as in OΠ_g, we have second order differences.     

Separation of lactose from human milk oligosaccharides with simulated moving bed chromatography

The successful separation of the disaccharide lactose from a complex mixture of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOS) with the continuous chromatography of simulated moving bed (SMB) technique is described. Since lactose is the main carbohydrate in human milk with well-known functions for the infant, it is necessary to separate it from the rest of the oligosaccharides to divide them into less complex fractions and analyse their partial unknown functions. For separation of lactose from HMOS two different stationary phases (size-exclusion gel as well as ion-exchange gel) were used. As the main result, it is shown that a size-exclusion gel with the particle size of 50-100 microm and porosity of 50 A was the preferred stationary phase for our separation process with almost complete lactose separation and stable conditions.     

Three-dimensional total synchronous luminescence spectroscopy criteria for discrimination between normal and malignant breast tissues

Specimens of malignant and normal female human breast tissues were analyzed after surgery by means of synchronous luminescence spectroscopy. Measurements were performed in the ranges of excitation wavelengths from 330 to 650 nm and synchronous wavelengths from 30 to 120 nm to obtain ordinary and first derivative three-dimensional total synchronous luminescence spectra (3d-TSLS) of each specimen. Arithmetic mean of these spectra has been calculated for normal and malignant specimens and analyzed to establish criteria for tissue differentiation. Spectral domain volumes (volumes below luminescence intensity surface) and mean spectral slopes have been calculated and also analyzed as tissue discrimination criteria. The obtained results are discussed in view of the possible relevance of synchronous luminescence spectroscopy in discrimination between normal and malignant breast tissue.     

On the least eigenvalue of cacti

Among the cacti with n vertices and k cycles we determine a unique cactus whose least eigenvalue is minimal. We also explore cacti with n vertices and among them, we find a unique cactus whose least eigenvalue is minimal.     

A heterobimetallic ruthenium-gadolinium complex as a potential agent for bimodal imaging

Trinuclear heterobimetallic Ln(III)-Ru(II) complexes (Ln = Eu, Gd) based on a 1,10-phenanthroline ligand bearing a diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) core have been synthesized and fully characterized by a range of experimental techniques. The (17)O NMR and proton nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (NMRD) measurements of Gd(III)-Ru(II) show that, in comparison to the parent Gd-DTPA, this complex exhibits improved relaxivity, which is the result of an increase of the rotational correlation time. Relaxometry and ultrafiltration experiments indicate that the 1,10-phenanthroline ligand has a high affinity for noncovalent binding to human serum albumin, which results in a high relaxivity r(1) of 14.3 s(-1) mM(-1) at 20 MHz and 37 °C. Furthermore, the Ln(III)-Ru(II) complexes (Ln = Eu, Gd) show an intense light absorption in the visible spectral region due to metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transitions. Upon excitation into the MLCT band at 440 nm, the complexes exhibit a bright-red luminescence centered at 610 nm, with a quantum yield of 4.7%. The luminescence lifetime equals 540 ns and is therefore long enough to exceed the fluorescent background. Monometallic lanthanide complexes have also been synthesized, and the Eu(III) analogue shows a characteristic red luminescence with a quantum yield of 0.8%. Taking into account the relaxometric and luminescent properties, the developed Gd(III)-Ru(II) complex can be considered as a potential in vitro bimodal imaging agent.     

New calсium β-diketonate complexes: The monomeric complexes [Ca(PhCOCHCOCF3)2(15-crown-5)], [Ca(AdCOCHCOCF3)2(15-crown-5)] and the binuclear hydrated complex [{Ca(adtfa)(18-crown-6)(H2O)}{Ca(adtfa)3(H2O)}(EtOH)]. Synthesis, characterization and crystal structure

The preparation of the Ca-β-diketonate complexes with crown-ethers, [Ca(btfa)₂(15-crown-5)] (1), [Ca(adtfa)₂(15-crown-5)] (2), [Ca(adtfa)₂(15-crown-5)](C₆H₅CH₃)_0.5 (3) and [{Ca(adtfa)(18-crown-6)(H₂O)}{Ca(adtfa)₃(H₂O)}(EtOH)] (4) (btfa = 1,1,1-trifluoro-4-phenyl-butanedionato-2,4; adtfa = 1,1,1-trifluoro-4-(1-adamantyl)butanedionato-2,4; 15-crown-5 = 1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxacyclopentadecane; 18-crown-6 = 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxacyclooctadecane), is described. Complex 1 has been prepared from the reaction of metallic Ca with 2 eq. of Hbtfa and 1 eq. of 15-crown-5 in toluene; complex 2 has been prepared from the reaction of metallic Ca with 2 eq. of Hadtfa and 1 eq. of 15-crown-5 in ethanol. The solvated complex 3 was obtained by cooling of a toluene-hexane solution of 2. The hydrated complex 4 was prepared from the reaction of metallic Ca with 2 eq. of Hadtfa and 1 eq. of 18-crown-6, followed by addition of excess H₂O to the resulting reaction mixture. The all complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, IR-spectroscopy, NMR-spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods, DSC and TGA. A single-crystal X-ray study of 1 and 3 has show that complexes 1 and 3 are monomeric and contain the calcium atom bonded with two β-diketonate ligands and one molecule of crown-ether. Complex 4, as shown by X-ray analyses, is an ion-paired solvated adduct, containing the cation {Ca(adtfa)(18-crown-6)(H₂O)}⁺ and the anion {Ca(adtfa)₃(H₂O)}⁻. The monomeric complexes 1-3 are volatile and thermally stable in the temperature range 100-260 °C. Complex 4 undergoes decomposition above 110 °C with consecutive loss of ethanol, H₂O, 18-crown-6 and some evaporization of 4.     

Caged glutathione - triggering protein interaction by light

Light, GSH, action! Glutathione (GSH) fulfills a universal role as redox factor, scavenger of reactive oxygen species, and as an essential substrate in the conjugation, detoxification, and reduction reactions catalyzed by glutathione S-transferase (GST). A photoactivatable glutathione allows the GSH-GST network to be triggered by light. GST fusion proteins can be assembled in situ at variable density and structures by laser-scanning activation.     

Ultrafast charge-transfer dynamics of donor-substituted truxenones

The photophysics of two donor-substituted truxenone derivatives has been studied by femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. The systems consist of a central truxenone acceptor with three triarylamine (TARA) branches which act as electron donors. Upon excitation in the visible regime an electron is transferred from the donor to the acceptor, generating a charge-separated state. This state can be probed via the characteristic absorption of the TARA radical cation around 700 nm. A second absorption band around 420 nm exhibits the same kinetics and is assigned to an absorption of the radical anion of the truxenone moiety. The back electron transfer and the recovery of the ground state can be interpreted within the framework of Marcus theory. To study the dependence of the back electron transfer on the electronic coupling, the distance between the donor and the acceptor was adjusted. Two solvents were employed, dimethylsulfoxide and dichloroethane. A biexponential decay of the bands assigned to the charge-separated state was observed, with time constants in the picosecond range. Surprisingly, the rates for electron back transfer do not follow the simple picture of the donor-acceptor distance being the determining factor. The observations are explained within a model that additionally takes steric interactions between the donor and the acceptor into account.