Conformal Operators on Forms and Detour Complexes on Einstein Manifolds

For even dimensional conformal manifolds several new conformally invariant objects were found recently: invariant differential complexes related to, but distinct from, the de Rham complex (these are elliptic in the case of Riemannian signature); the cohomology spaces of these; conformally stable form spaces that we may view as spaces of conformal harmonics; operators that generalise Branson’s Q-curvature; global pairings between differential form bundles that descend to cohomology pairings. Here we show that these operators, spaces, and the theory underlying them, simplify significantly on conformally Einstein manifolds. We give explicit formulae for all the operators concerned. The null spaces for these, the conformal harmonics, and the cohomology spaces are expressed explicitly in terms of direct sums of subspaces of eigenspaces of the form Laplacian. For the case of non-Ricci flat spaces this applies in all signatures and without topological restrictions. In the case of Riemannian signature and compact manifolds, this leads to new results on the global invariant pairings, including for the integral of Q-curvature against the null space of the dimensional order conformal Laplacian of Graham et al.     

Classification of wine distillates using multivariate statistical methods based on their direct GC-MS analysis

This work describes a novel methodology for the recognition of brandies based on direct injection of a raw sample followed by GC-MS analysis. Direct injection was chosen for its simplicity and the fact that the composition of the samples analysed remains unchanged compared to original brandy. The repeatability of the analytical procedure was evaluated by a comparison of the peak areas for randomly selected compounds obtained from 10 parallel measurements. A novel chemometric procedure was investigated in order to separate the samples studied on the basis of their geographical origin, processing technology or maturation time. In this procedure, a principal component analysis was applied to full chromatograms to select the time interval that shows the significant differences between the samples studied. It was shown that the chromatogram recorded at 36–39 min bore the maximal differences, hence it could be used to classify the brandy samples. The chromatographic peaks found within this time interval were identified and their peak areas determined. These compounds could be used as specific markers for determining geographical origin or processing technology.     

Effect of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma on Maize Seeds: Enhancement of Seedlings Growth and Surface Microorganisms Inactivation

Cold atmospheric pressure ambient air plasma generated by Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge (DCSBD) was investigated for inhibition of native microbiota and potentially dangerous pathogens (Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium culmorum) on the maize surface. Moreover, the improvement of germination and growth parameters of maize seeds was evaluated. Maize (Zea mays L.; cv. Ronaldinio), one of the most important cultivated crops worldwide, was selected as the research material. Electrical measurements confirmed the high volume power density (80 W cm^?3) of DCSBD plasma. Non-equilibrium plasma state evaluated using optical emission spectroscopy showed values of vibrational and rotational temperature (2700?±?300) K and (370?±?75) K, respectively. Changes on the plasma treated seeds surface were studied by water contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscope analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A complete devitalisation of native microbiota on the surface of seeds was observed after a short treatment time of 60 s (bacteria) and 180 s (filamentous fungi). The plasma treatment efficiency of artificially contaminated maize seeds was estimated as a reduction of 3.79 log (CFU/g) in F. culmorum after a 60-s plasma treatment, 4.21 log (CFU/g) in A. flavus and 3.22 log (CFU/g) in A. alternata after a 300-s plasma treatment. Moreover, the obtained results show an increase in wettability, resulting in a better water uptake and in an enhancement of growth parameters. The investigated DCSBD plasma source provides significant technical advantages and application potential for seed surface finishing without the use of hazardous chemicals.     

Protective effect of mitochondrially targeted antioxidant MitoQ on oxidatively stressed fibroblasts

3T3 and VH10 cells were subjected to oxidative damage by hydroxyl radicals generated from Cu(II) ions and ascorbate. The presence of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in cells was determined using fluorescent dyes. MitoQ—a mitochondrially targeted antioxidant—was examined to prevent cell death and was compared with trolox as a reference standard serving as an antioxidant. MitoQ at lower concentrations (up to 500 nM) prevented damage of mitochondria and thereby increased viability of cells. However, at higher concentrations (over 500 nM) MitoQ decreased the viability of both strains of cells. The last observation indicates that the application of MitoQ should be evaluated also from the point of its cell-destructive potential.     

Solution processable diketopyrrolopyrrole semiconductor: towards bio-electronic applications

In this paper, the possibility to use diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) for the construction of electrical devices designed to interact with animal cells was studied. For this purpose, the biocompatibility and electrical properties of the selected DPP derivative (3,6-bis(5-(benzofuran-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl)-2,5-bis(2-ethyl-hexyl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione) [referred as DPP(TBFu)₂] were researched. The electrical properties were studied using model organic field-effect transistors. Mainly investigated was under what conditions maximum charge carrier mobility can be achieved. Using the cumulative effect of self-assembled monolayers on dielectrics and electrodes and detailed thermal analysis of the DPP, a higher charge carrier mobility was achieved than has been previously reported (5.5?×?10^?3 cm² V^?1 s^?1). The biocompatibility was studied based on a culture of 3T3 fibroblasts. This research revealed that DPP(TBFu)₂ can be used in applications involving direct contact with living animal cells. The conclusions found with these model devices can be applied to components suitable for biosensing applications, e.g., water- or electrolyte-gated organic field-effect transistors.     

Simultaneous Determination of 11 Elements in Fly Ash by Inductively Coupled Plasma Orthogonal Acceleration Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry After Closed-Vessel Microwave-Assisted Extraction with Ammonium Fluoride

A method for simultaneous multi-element analysis of fly ash samples by inductively coupled plasma orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (oaTOF-ICP-MS) after closed-vessel microwave extraction with ammonium fluoride was introduced here. Corrosive and/or toxic acids like HF, HCl or HClO₄, as well as HNO₃, which are commonly used during sample preparation of the fly ash samples, are avoided in this method. The spectral effects due to the formation of different Cl, Na, K, Ca, Mg-containing polyatomic species interfering with the determination of a number of elements like As, Se or Ni during the oaTOF-ICP-MS analysis are negligible. Under the optimum experimental extraction conditions evaluated using a fractional factorial design (10 mg of the sample extracted with 5 mL of 140 g/L NH₄F for 10 min at 200°C), analysis of the resulting supernatant with Rh as an internal standard enabled precise and accurate simultaneous determination of 11 elements (Li, Be, Ni, As, Se, Rb, Sb, Cs, W, Tl and U) at trace and ultratrace levels. The accuracy was assessed by analysing two certified reference materials, namely Fine Fly Ash CTA-FFA-1 and Constituent Elements in Coal Fly Ash Standard Reference Material® 1633b. The precision of the reported method was better than 10%.     

Protein surface conservation in binding sites

An algorithm is described which uses the conservation of the 3D structure of protein surfaces, as opposed to their sequences, to detect protein-protein binding sites. The protein in which protein-protein binding sites are sought is compared with structures of multiple structurally related proteins and the surface that is conserved at least once is considered to be a part of the binding site. The binding site predictions obtained in this way for a set of protein-protein complexes correspond well with the actual protein-protein binding sites. A comparison of this method with an algorithm using the support vector machine approach for predicting protein-protein binding sites shows structural conservation to be an important characteristic that distinguishes binding sites from the remainder of protein surfaces.     

Pairs of Semisimple Lie Algebras and their Maximal Reductive Subalgebras

Let \(\mathfrak g\) be a semisimple Lie algebra over a field \(\mathbb K\), \(\text{char}\left( \mathbb{K} \right)=0\), and \(\mathfrak g_1\) a subalgebra reductive in \(\mathfrak g\). Suppose that the restriction of the Killing form B of \(\mathfrak g\) to \(\mathfrak g_1 \times \mathfrak g_1\) is nondegenerate. Consider the following statements: ( 1) For any Cartan subalgebra \(\mathfrak h_1\) of \(\mathfrak g_1\) there is a unique Cartan subalgebra \(\mathfrak h\) of \(\mathfrak g\) containing \(\mathfrak h_1\); ( 2) \(\mathfrak g_1\) is self-normalizing in \(\mathfrak g\); ( 3) The B-orthogonal \(\mathfrak p\) of \(\mathfrak g_1\) in \(\mathfrak g\) is simple as a \(\mathfrak g_1\)-module for the adjoint representation. We give some answers to this natural question: For which pairs \((\mathfrak g,\mathfrak g_1)\) do ( 1), ( 2) or ( 3) hold? We also study how \(\mathfrak p\) in general decomposes as a \(\mathfrak g_1\)-module, and when \(\mathfrak g_1\) is a maximal subalgebra of \(\mathfrak g\). In particular suppose \((\mathfrak g,\sigma )\) is a pair with \(\mathfrak g\) as above and σ its automorphism of order m. Assume that \(\mathbb K\) contains a primitive m-th root of unity. Define \(\mathfrak g_1:=\mathfrak g^{\sigma}\), the fixed point algebra for σ. We prove the following generalization of a well known result for symmetric Lie algebras, i.e., for m=2: (a) \((\mathfrak g,\mathfrak g_1)\) satisfies ( 1); (b) For m prime, \((\mathfrak g,\mathfrak g_1)\) satisfies ( 2).     

Man-tailored cellulose-based carriers for invertase immobilization

Cellulose-based carriers Granocel were specially prepared and optimised for covalent immobilization of enzymes. The effects of carrier characteristics such as pore size, chemistry of anchor groups and their density on invertase immobilization efficiency were evaluated. It was found that the preferential adsorption/binding of the enzyme to a carrier during coupling and its activity after immobilization depended on microenvironmental effects created by hydrophilic surface of the carrier, functional groups and their activators. The best preparations (activity approx. 300 U/mL, high storage stability) were obtained for NH₂-Granocel activated with glutaraldehyde. It is probably due to Granocel modification with pentaethylenehexamine that gave a 19-atom spacer arm. The enzyme concentration in coupling mixture was optimised as well. The kinetic parameters of sucrose hydrolysis for native and immobilized invertase were evaluated. Compared to the native invertase, K _m value of immobilized enzyme was only twice higher with about three times lower substrate inhibition. Reaction runs in a well mixed batch reactors with native and immobilized invertase showed slightly slower reaction rate in the case of the enzyme covalently bound to Granocel. Very good stability of cellulose-based carrier was proved experimentally by 20 successive reaction runs in a batch reactor.