Adsorption of the fusogenic peptide B18 onto solid surfaces: insights into the mechanism of peptide assembly

The adsorption and assembly of B18 peptide on various solid surfaces were studied by reflectometry techniques and atomic force microscopy. B18 is the minimal membrane binding and fusogenic motif of the sea urchin protein bindin, which mediates the fertilization process. Silicon substrates were modified to obtain hydrophilic charged surfaces (oxide layer and polyelectrolyte multilayers) and hydrophobic surfaces (octadecyltrichlorosilane). B18 does not adsorb on hydrophilic positively charged surfaces, which was attributed to electrostatic repulsion since the peptide is positively charged. In contrast, the peptide irreversibly adsorbs on negatively charged hydrophilic as well as on hydrophobic surfaces. B18 showed higher affinity for hydrophobic surfaces than for hydrophilic negatively charged surfaces, which must be due to the presence of hydrophobic side chains at both ends of the molecule. Atomic force microscopy provided the indication that lateral diffusion on the surface affects the adsorption process of B18 on hydrophobic surfaces. The adsorption of the peptide on negatively charged surfaces was characterized by the formation of globular clusters.     

Solvent Mixture Optimization in the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activities from Garlic (Allium sativum L.)

Garlic is a health promoter that has important bioactive compounds. The bioactive extraction is an important step in the analysis of constituents present in plant preparations. The purpose of this study is to optimize the extraction with the best proportion of solvents to obtain total phenolic compounds (TPC) and thiosulfinates (TS) from dried garlic powder, and evaluate the antioxidant activities of the optimized extracts. A statistical mixture simplex axial design was used to evaluate the effect of solvents (water, ethanol, and acetone), as well as mixtures of these solvents, after two ultrasound extraction cycles of 15 min. Results showed that solvent mixtures with a high portion of water and pure water were efficient for TPC and TS recovery through this extraction procedure. According to the regression model computed, the most significant solvent mixtures to obtain high TPC and TS recovery from dried garlic powder are, respectively, the binary mixture with 75% water and 25% acetone and pure water. These optimized extracts presented oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Pure water was better for total antioxidant capacity, and the binary mixture of water–acetone (75:25) was better for DPPH scavenging activity. These optimized extracts can be used for industrial and research applications.     

Magnetic coupling between Gd and Pr ions and magnetocaloric effect in Gd0.5Pr0.5Al2 compound

In this work, we report the theoretical and experimental investigations on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties for Gd_0.5Pr_0.5Al₂ compound in different magnetic fields. The magnetization features indicate that Gd_0.5Pr_0.5Al₂ is ferrimagnetic at low temperatures. We also present data from X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) experiments for this compound, with which we have confirmed that the magnetic moments of the Pr ions are antiparallel to the magnetic moments of the Gd ions. The magnetocaloric parameters, ΔT_S and ΔS_T, were obtained from calorimetric data and both curves present normal and inverse magnetocaloric effect. A theoretical model for ferrimagnetic coupling, including the crystalline electrical field anisotropy, was used to describe the ΔT_S and ΔS_T experimental results.     

Diffusion of ionic species in bentonite

We present a macroscopic model of ionic diffusion in bentonites including the effect of the hydraulic-electrical-chemical couplings expected in such charged porous medium. The anomalous concentrations of the ions in the pore water of the bentonite are modeled with a modified Donnan model in which we account for the partition of the counterions between the Stern and Gouy-Chapman layers. This is accomplished using an electric triple layer (TLM) model combined with an explicit complexation model at the mineral/water interface. The porosity entering into the determination of the formation factor of the medium is an effective porosity obtained by removing the fraction of hydration water covering the surface of the clay minerals. We investigate two different cases of diffusion. In the first case, we consider a salinity gradient between two reservoirs in contact with a cylindrical sample of bentonite. The model predicts an increase of the diffusivity of the salt with the salinity of the solution in contact with the bentonite in agreement with experimental data. In the second case, we analyze a self-diffusion experiment of an ionic tracer. The model predicts an increase of the diffusivity of anions with the effective porosity and with the ionic strength. This is also in good agreement with experimental data.     

Statistical classification of road pavements using near field vehicle rolling noise measurements

Low noise surfaces have been increasingly considered as a viable and cost-effective alternative to acoustical barriers. However, road planners and administrators frequently lack information on the correlation between the type of road surface and the resulting noise emission profile. To address this problem, a method to identify and classify different types of road pavements was developed, whereby near field road noise is analyzed using statistical learning methods. The vehicle rolling sound signal near the tires and close to the road surface was acquired by two microphones in a special arrangement which implements the Close-Proximity method. A set of features, characterizing the properties of the road pavement, was extracted from the corresponding sound profiles. A feature selection method was used to automatically select those that are most relevant in predicting the type of pavement, while reducing the computational cost. A set of different types of road pavement segments were tested and the performance of the classifier was evaluated. Results of pavement classification performed during a road journey are presented on a map, together with geographical data. This procedure leads to a considerable improvement in the quality of road pavement noise data, thereby increasing the accuracy of road traffic noise prediction models.     

Easy dual-mode ambient mass spectrometry with Venturi self-pumping, canned air, disposable parts and voltage-free sonic-spray ionization

An exceptionally easy to assemble source for ambient mass spectrometry is described. Based on Venturi easy ambient sonic-spray ionization (V-EASI), the source was further simplified by the use of a can of compressed air which simultaneously provides solution or solvent Venturi self-pumping and continuous, stable and abundant low-noise ion signal via voltage-free sonic-spraying. Further simplification was also attained by the use of inexpensive and readily commercially available parts: a surgical 2-way catheter, an aerosol can of compressed air, a 30 cm long fused-silica capillary and a hypodermic needle. This "Spartan" V-EASI source seems to offer one of the easiest and cheapest ways to make ions for ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry analysis of both liquid and solid samples.     

Comparison of two models for phonon assisted tunneling field enhanced emission from defects in Ge measured by DLTS

Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) was used to measure the field enhanced emission rate from a defect introduced in n-type Ge. The defect was introduced through low energy (±80 eV) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching using Ar. The defect, named EP_0.31, had an energy level 0.31 eV below the conduction band. Models of Pons and Makram-Ebeid (1979) [2] and Ganichev and Prettl (1997) [3], which describe emission due to phonon assisted tunneling, were fitted to the observed electric field dependence of the emission rate. The model of Pons and Makram-Ebeid fitted the measured emission rate more accurately than Ganichev and Prettl. However the model of Ganichev and Prettl has only two parameters, while the model of Pons and Makram-Ebeid has four. Both models showed a transition in the dominant emission mechanism from a weak electron–phonon coupling below 152.5 K to a strong electron–phonon coupling above 155 K. After the application of a χ² goodness of fit test, it was determined that the model of Pons and Makram-Ebeid describes the data well, while that of Ganichev and Prettl does not.     

Photo-triggered pulsed cavity compressor for bright electron bunches in ultrafast electron diffraction

Temporally resolved observation of microscopic structural dynamics of solids with ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) requires extremely short pulsed, highly charged, monoenergetic electron beams with sufficient transverse coherence length of several unit cells of the investigated samples. However, Coulomb repulsion defeats these parameters in free propagation of an electron pulse initially bright on the photo cathode. We demonstrate a new electron pulse compressor design based on a simple and compact RF structure incorporating a pair of gallium arsenide photoconductive semiconductor switches that are triggered by femtosecond laser pulses, thereby providing a longitudinal voltage gradient of up to 20?V/ps. Our proof of principle experiment achieved compression of bunches containing 26,000 electrons to a duration of below 750?fs and a beam diameter of 300???m in the temporal and spatial focus of the device while maintaining the good beam collimation required for time resolved electron diffraction experiments. The simplicity of the compressor provides a strong incentive for its further development toward practical implementation in sub-relativistic UED experiments requiring the highest possible source brightness.