Conversion of Polyethylenes into Fungal Secondary Metabolites

Waste plastics represent major environmental and economic burdens due to their ubiquity, slow breakdown rates, and inadequacy of current recycling routes. Polyethylenes are particularly problematic, because they lack robust recycling approaches despite being the most abundant plastics in use today. We report a novel chemical and biological approach for the rapid conversion of polyethylenes into structurally complex and pharmacologically active compounds. We present conditions for aerobic, catalytic digestion of polyethylenes collected from post-consumer and oceanic waste streams, creating carboxylic diacids that can then be used as a carbon source by the fungus Aspergillus nidulans. As a proof of principle, we have engineered strains of A. nidulans to synthesize the fungal secondary metabolites asperbenzaldehyde, citreoviridin, and mutilin when grown on these digestion products. This hybrid approach considerably expands the range of products to which polyethylenes can be upcycled.     

NEW STRAIN GRADIENT THEORY AND ANALYSIS

A new strain gradient theory which is based on energy nonlocal model is proposed in this paper, and the theory is applied to investigate the size effects in thin metallic wire torsion, ultra-thin beam bending and micro-indentation of polycrystalline copper. First, an energy nonlocal model is suggested. Second, based on the model, a new strain gradient theory is derived. Third, the new theory is applied to analyze three representative experiments.     

Application of a WGM optical fiber probe fabricated by 3D printing technology for glucose concentration measurement

This study proposes a method for manufacturing a whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical fiber probe used for measuring glucose. The principle of the WGM optical fiber probe consists of the bending interference that occurs between the core mode and cladding mode. 3D printing technology was used to create a mold for the optical fiber sensor so that the bent optical fiber sensor was fixed within the mold to ensure a stable bend radius. This method of fabrication allows for easier installation and replacement of the resulting optical fiber compared to WGM optical fiber sensors fabricated by traditional methods. The results of the concentration test showed that as the glucose aqueous solution concentration increased from 0 to 10%, the wavelength was red shifted and the transmission loss gradually increased. At a bend radius of 3.1 mm and an etching diameter of 46 μm, the wavelength sensitivity was 1.475 nm/% and the R-squared value was 0.983, indicating an extremely high sensitivity. These results confirm that the WGM optical fiber probe created in this study can be used to measure glucose concentrations with high sensitivity, and that it is relatively easy to manufacture, install, and replace. Therefore, the proposed WGM optical fiber probe exhibits good performance and is suitable for use as a glucose concentration sensor.     

Propagation of Solitary Pulses in Optical Fibers with Both Self-Steepening and Quintic Nonlinear Effects

Pulse dynamics and stability in optical fibers in the presence of both self-steepening and quintic nonlinear effects are analyzed. Propagating profiles of the quintic derivative nonlinear Schrodinger model are isolated via two invariants of motion. The resulting canonical equation admits exact periodic propagating patterns in terms of the Jacobi elliptic functions, and solitary pulses are recovered in the long wave limit, i.e. degenerate cases of periodic profiles where each pulse is widely separated from the adjacent ones. Two families of such exact wave profiles are identified. The first one has a precise constraint concerning the magnitude of self-steepening and quintic nonlinear effects, while the second one permits more freedom. The reduction to the well established temporal soliton in an optical fiber waveguide in the absence of self-steepening and quintic nonlinearity is demonstrated explicitly. Numerical simulations are performed to identify regimes of parameter values where robust propagation patterns exist.     

Recent progress on the chiral unitary approach to meson meson and meson baryon interactions

We report on recent progress on the chiral unitary approach, analogous to the effective range expansion in Quantum Mechanics, which is shown to have a much larger convergence radius than ordinary chiral perturbation theory, allowing one to reproduce data for meson meson interaction up to 1.2 GeV. Applications to physical processes so far unsuited for a standard chiral perturbative approach are presented. Results for the extension of these ideas to the meson baryon sector are discussed, together with applications to kaons in a nuclear medium and K⁻ atoms.     

Synthesis and mesomorphic behavior of a donor-acceptor-type hexaazatriphenylene

[structure: see text] A new donor-acceptor, 1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene HATCNOR(n), is described. The synthesis of HATCNOR1 and HATCNOR6 is achieved by the regioselective displacement of 1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene hexacarbonitrile (HATCN) with an alkoxy group. The X-ray analysis revealed self-assembly of HATCNOR1 in the solid state. HATCNOR6 is the new difunctionalized hexaazatriphenylene discotic liquid crystal.     

The study of B→K(*)l+l- decays in family non-universal Z' models

In a combined investigation of B→K^(*)l⁺l^- decays, constraints on the related couplings in family non-universal Z' models are derived. We find that within the allowed parameter space, the recently observed forward-backward asymmetry in the B→K^(*)l⁺l^- decay can be explained by flipping the signs of the Wilson coefficients C₉^eff and C₁₀. With the obtained constraints, we also calculate the branching ratio of the B_s→μ⁺μ^- decay. The upper bound of our prediction is nearly an order of magnitude smaller than the upper bound given by the CDF Collaboration recently.     

Micro FTIR Mapping of Nanometer Ferroelectric Polymer Films

Summary: Highly crystalline ferroelectric polymer films [vinyidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene, β‐P(VDF‐TrFE), 260–15 nm thick] were characterized with FTIR reflectance‐transmission microspectroscopy (FTIR‐RTM) mapping technique (400 µm × 400 µm spatial resolution). The amorphous and crystalline fractions were identified locally. FTIR‐RTM maps (1 cm² area) provided a unique in‐depth view of the ultrathin films. Lower film thickness suppressed growth of the crystalline phase. Increased content of amorphous phase lead to non‐uniform films with degraded ferroelectric behavior.

FTIR‐RTM maps of the distribution of the amorphous phase in the 80 and 35 nm films.     

Nitrate and perchlorate salts of a silver(I) complex from 5-methyl-2-(2,3-diaza-4-(5-methyl-2-thienyl)buta-1,3-dienyl)thiophene

Bis(5-methyl-2-(2,3-diaza-4-(5-methyl-2-thienyl)buta-1,3-dienyl)thiophene) silver(I) complex was synthesized in high yield by refluxing 5-methyl-2-(2,3-diaza-4-(5-methyl-2-thienyl)buta-1,3-dienyl)thiophene (L) with silver nitrate or silver perchlorate in anhydrous acetonitrile. The product thus formed was well characterized by NMR, IR, UV–Vis and mass spectroscopies as well as elemental analysis and electrochemical analysis. Molecular structures of compounds L, [L₂Ag]NO₃ and [L₂Ag]ClO₄ were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. It was found that the C=N double bond of the ligand rotated during the course of ligand coordination in the case of the perchlorate salt but not in the case of the nitrate salt.     

The synthesis and properties of side‐chain liquid‐crystal polymers with a chiral center

The synthesis and mesomorphic properties of six monomers and six side‐chain liquid‐crystal polymers with a chiral center are described. The polysiloxanes were prepared by the hydrosilation of monomers with poly(hydromethylsiloxane)s. Most of the polymers exhibit a wide range of the chiral smectic C phase (SmC*). © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1609–1617, 2000