Improved method for the determination of biogenic amines and polyamines in vegetable products by ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography

Here, we report on the optimisation and validation of a liquid chromatographic method for the determination of 12 biologically active amines from vegetal food products in a single 40-min run. The suitability of the method was checked in five vegetal products of distinct matrix: spinach (leaves), hazelnut (high protein and fat content), banana, potato (high starch content), and milk chocolate (processed). Sample preparation consisted of a 0.6 M perchloric acid extraction from a minced homogeneous aliquot. For samples with high starch content, a previous mild hydrolytic treatment was required to prevent gel formation. The range of linearity was from 0.1 to 10 mg/l, except for serotonin and spermine (from 0.5 to 10 mg/l), and the correlation coefficient was higher than 0.997 (P < 0.001) for all standard curves. The detection limits and the determination limit were below 0.07 and 0.2 mg/l, respectively, except for spermine, which was 0.14 and 0.4 mg/l. The precision of the method was satisfactory; the relative standard deviation obtained for each amine in each product was acceptable according to Horwitz. Recovery was between 77 and 110% for all amines, irrespective of the product.     

Chemical grafting of biphenyl self-assembled monolayers on ultrananocrystalline diamond

We have investigated the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4'-nitro-1,1-biphenyl-4-diazonium tetrafluoroborate (NBD) onto ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) thin films. In contrast to the common approach to modify diamond and diamond-like substrates by electrografting, the SAM was formed from the saturated solution of NBD in acetonitrile by pure chemical grafting. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) have been used to verify the direct covalent attachment of the 4'-nitro-1,1-biphenyl (NB) SAM on the diamond substrate via stable C-C bonds and to estimate the monolayer packing density. The results confirm the presence of a very stable, homogeneous and dense monolayer. Additionally, the terminal nitro group of the NB SAM can be readily converted into an amino group by X-ray irradiation as well as electrochemistry. This opens the possibility of in situ electrochemical modification as well as the creation of chemical patterns (chemical lithography) in the SAM on UNCD substrates and enables a variety of consecutive chemical functionalization for sensing and molecular electronics applications.     

A nonlinear Fokker–Planck equation approach for interacting systems: Anomalous diffusion and Tsallis statistics

We investigate the solutions for a set of coupled nonlinear Fokker–Planck equations coupled by the diffusion coefficient in presence of external forces. The coupling by the diffusion coefficient implies that the diffusion of each species is influenced by the other and vice versa due to this term, which represents an interaction among them. The solutions for the stationary case are given in terms of the Tsallis distributions, when arbitrary external forces are considered. We also use the Tsallis distributions to obtain a time dependent solution for a linear external force. The results obtained from this analysis show a rich class of behavior related to anomalous diffusion, which can be characterized by compact or long-tailed distributions.     

Energy structure and electromagnetically induced transparency of neutral donor in a multi-hilled GaAs quantum ribbon

The theoretical study of the energy spectrum and optical response of off-axis donor in a GaAs quantum ribbon with anisotropic rim height under the presence of constant crossed electric and magnetic fields is presented. The calculations are carried out within the effective mass and parabolic approximation, using an adiabatic approach combined with a diagonalization scheme. The rim height of the quantum ribbon has been modeled by including a phenomenological two-parametric function that accounts for realistic features of multi-hilled semiconductor nanostructure obtained from atomic force microscopy images. The first phenomenological parameter is introduced to control the number of quantum ribbon structural hills and the second one to deal with the height of the hills. It is shown that both the depth and the number of structural hills tend to substantially affect the Aharonov–Bohm oscillation pattern which can be quenched or restored by applying an electric field in an appropriate direction. The effect of the changes in the geometry and in the applied electric field onto the optical absorption and refractive index change are discussed. The phenomenon of electric-field-induced optical transparency in the system is particularly highlighted.     

Enhanced photochemical [6π] electrocyclization within the lipophilic protein binding site

Photocyclization of N-methyldiphenylamine to N-methylcarbazole is achieved within the microenvironment provided by site I of serum albumins. Quantum yield determinations, combined with transient absorption spectroscopic detection of the dihydrocarbazole intermediate, demonstrate that protein encapsulation provides a subtle control of the kinetic parameters, leading to optimized efficiencies.     

Tripled coincidence theorems for contractive type mappings in partially ordered metric spaces

In this paper we introduce the concept of a tripled coincidence point for a pair of nonlinear contractive mappings F : X³ → X and g : X → X. The obtained results extend recent coincidence theorems due to ?iri? and Lakshmikantham [V. Lakshmikantham, L. ?iri?, L., Coupled fixed point theorems for nonlinear contractions in partially ordered metric spaces, Nonlinear Anal. 70 (2009) 4341-4349].     

Hooks generate the representation ring of the symmetric group

We prove that the representation ring of the symmetric group on n$n$ letters is generated by the exterior powers of its natural (n−1)$(n-1)$-dimensional representation. The proof we give illustrates a strikingly simple formula due to Dvir. We provide an application and investigate a possible generalization of this result to some other reflection groups.     

Multiscale modeling of the plasticity in an aluminum single crystal

This paper describes a numerical, hierarchical multiscale modeling methodology involving two distinct bridges over three different length scales that predicts the work hardening of face centered cubic crystals in the absence of physical experiments. This methodology builds a clear bridging approach connecting nano-, micro- and meso-scales. In this methodology, molecular dynamics simulations (nanoscale) are performed to generate mobilities for dislocations. A discrete dislocations numerical tool (microscale) then uses the mobility data obtained from the molecular dynamics simulations to determine the work hardening. The second bridge occurs as the material parameters in a slip system hardening law employed in crystal plasticity models (mesoscale) are determined by the dislocation dynamics simulation results. The material parameters are computed using a correlation procedure based on both the functional form of the hardening law and the internal elastic stress/plastic shear strain fields computed from discrete dislocations. This multiscale bridging methodology was validated by using a crystal plasticity model to predict the mechanical response of an aluminum single crystal deformed under uniaxial compressive loading along the [4 2 1] direction. The computed strain-stress response agrees well with the experimental data.     

Ink‐Jet Printing of Luminescent Ruthenium‐ and Iridium‐Containing Polymers for Applications in Light‐Emitting Devices

Summary: Defined films of luminescent ruthenium(II ) polypyridyl‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and iridium(III ) polypyridyl‐polystyrene (PS) copolymers could be prepared by ink‐jet printing. The copolymers were deposited on photoresist‐patterned glass substrates. Films as thin as 120 nm could be printed with a roughness of 1 to 2%. In addition, the film thickness could be varied in a controlled way through the number of droplets deposited per unit area. The topography of the ink‐jet printed films was analyzed utilizing an optical profilometer. The absorbance and emission spectra were measured using fast parallel UV‐vis and fluorescence plate reader.

Photo of the solutions of luminescent ruthenium (left) and iridium (right) containing polymers in a glass microtiter plate (top). The subsequently prepared films using ink‐jet dispensing techniques are shown below.     

The status of MCU-5

The software developed within the framework of the MCU project which implements the Monte Carlo method for solving the transport equations for various kinds of radiation is widely used for calculating nuclear reactors of different types. The final version of MCU-5 is described. The developed libraries of constants are briefly described, and the potentialities of the MCU-5 package modules and the executable codes compiled from them are characterized. Examples of important problems of reactor physics solved with the codes from the MCU family are presented.