Prevalence for the universal distribution of relaxation times near the glass transitions in experimental model systems: rodlike liquid crystals and orientationally disordered crystals

Recently, Nielsen et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 130, 154508 (2009); Philos. Mag. 88, 4101 (2008)] demonstrated a universal pattern for the high frequency wing of the loss curve for primary relaxation time on approaching the glass transition for organic liquids. In this contribution it is presented that a similar universality occurs for glass-forming liquid crystals and orientationally disordered crystals (plastic crystals). Empirical correlations of the found behavior are also briefly discussed.     

Temperature studies of dielectric permittivity and mass density pretransitional anomalies in binary mixtures

Results of temperature studies of dielectric permittivity and mass density in binary mixtures are presented. The anomaly of dielectric permittivity as a function of temperature in nitrobenzene-n-alkanes binary mixtures has been studied. Molar dielectric permittivity which takes into account the anomaly of dielectric permittivity and the mass density anomaly has been introduced.     

Solid–fluid phase transitions under extreme pressures including negative ones

Upon heating or isotropic expansion, condensed matters (solids and liquids) can reach their stability limits, where the system must be stabilized by the appearance of a second phase. During isotropic expansion, the pressure can reach negative values. In auxetic materials, volume expansion is an inherent way of behavior, therefore, negative-pressure states can be reached easily during uni-axial stretch. In this paper, a comparison of various stability limits of pure and ordered one-component stretched solids will be mapped, with special focus on auxetic materials.     

The liquid-glass and liquid-liquid transitions of TPP at elevated pressure

We studied the polyamorphism of the liquid triphenyl phosphite by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy at ambient and elevated (p=500 MPa) pressures. The effect of pressure on fragility, liquid-liquid phase transition, and its kinetics is discussed in relation to the two-order-parameter model proposed by Tanaka. The experimental evidence in support of this model is presented.     

The usage of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) to control food-borne pathogens in hummus

ABSTRACT

With the increasing demand for fresher, higher quality, minimally processed and safer food, there is a strong necessity to develop non-thermal processing techniques. Also for hummus, which is popular all around the world. In this work, the effect of refrigerated storage on the survival of pathogens in hummus treated by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) (500?MPa/10?min/room temperature) was evaluated. The cocktail of two Salmonella, four Listeria monocytogenes and two Escherichia coli strains was used in this study. All pathogen types were able to survive in hummus during 60 days of refrigerated storage. HHP-treated samples plated on day 0 successfully achieved a?>?5 log cfu/g reduction for all pathogen types. No residual survivors were present after 30 and 60 days in any of the HHP-treated samples. These results demonstrate that HHP may be a useful technique for the inactivation of pathogens and therefore helpful in designing non-thermal HHP conditions for pressurization of hummus.     

Does the characteristic value of the discontinuity of the isotropic-mesophase transition in n-cyanobiphenyls exist?

Results of the extended Landau-de Gennes model analysis and experimental studies of the isotropic-nematic (I-N) and isotropic-smectic-A (I-SmA) phase transitions in rod-like liquid crystalline n-alkylcyanobiphenyls are presented. Experiments were carried out as a function of temperature and pressure using the static dielectric permittivity and its 'nonlinear' (strong electric field related) counterpart-the low-frequency nonlinear dielectric effect. Precise estimations of the values of the discontinuity of the isotropic-mesophase transitions (ΔT) for nCB from n?=?3-14 have been obtained. It is suggested that for each nCB a unique, characteristic minimal value of ΔT, associated with the I-N-SmA triple point, exists. For 'shorter' nCBs it can be hidden in the negative pressures domain. The possibility of the extension of the 'melting curve' into the negative pressures region as well as the appearance of the 'melting inversion' at high enough pressures is indicated.