Volume of normal heart in adults. Own radiometric investigations (author''s transl

Six children with histiocytosis X, all in clinical remission, were investigated for antibody-dependent cytotoxicity mediated by monocytes and neutrophils. Monocytes demonstrated a reduced cytotoxicity and a normal Fc receptor activity. Judged by light microscopy the monocytes were normal. Preincubation with the patient's serum did not influence the cytotoxicity of normal monocytes. Neutrophils from patients with histiocytosis X showed a normal cytotoxic activity. We postulate a functional defect of the mononuclear phagocyte system in histiocytosis X.     

Thermal diffusivity of nanocarbon composites

This study was performed to measure the thermal diffusivity of different types of nanocarbon composites. Thermoexfoliated graphite (TEG), ultrasonically dispersed TEG, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes were used as fillers in epoxy polymer matrixes. The nanocarbon filler content was 1–10 wt%. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity and the heat capacity were extensively characterized in the temperature range between 150 and 425 K. For this purpose, the thermal diffusivity of the composites was investigated by two experimental methods: dynamic λ‐calorimeter and photoacoustic. The comparative analysis of thermal diffusivity of compacted TEG samples with different densities and of nanocarbon‐epoxy with different filler content was carried out. It was found that for the composites with a low distribution of the nanocarbon filler, the thermal diffusivity increases and that the value is determined by the structural and morphological properties of the filler. The orientation function for the TEG‐epoxy composites and the compact TEG samples differs due to the epoxy matrix that reduced anisotropy of the composite. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Use of commercial grape phenolic extracts to supplement solid foodstuff

Osmotic treatment (OT) has been applied to infuse phenolic compounds into a model food. Two commercial grape extracts were used as a source of phenolics, a grape seed extract (GSE) and a white grape marc extract (WGME). Three different concentrations of total phenolics were applied with and without presence of osmo-active solute (50 g/100 g and 0 g/100 g of sucrose) in the osmotic solution (OS). With a 50 g/100 g sucrose and a total phenolic content in OS ranging from 3 g/L to 15 g/L and operating time up to 8 h, the final total phenolic content in the osmo-treated model food was between 815 mg GAE/kg and 7176 mg GAE/kg. That is between the 0.5 and 1.5 times higher than that of the richest fruits. A soaking process with the same phenolic content but with no sucrose in OS led to a total phenolic content in the model food that was between 80% and 100% higher.Mass transfer of the major phenolics infused into the model food during OT and soaking process was characterized considering the diffusional approach and Peleg's model. Progress of total and individual phenolic content fitted well both models with the exception of the flavan-3-ol dimer concentration.     

Poly(hydroxybutyrate‐co‐hydroxyvalerate)/titanium dioxide nanocomposites: A degradation study

Nanocomposites, based on a poly(hydroxybutyrate‐co‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) matrix and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles and fabricated with a solvent‐casting technique, were characterized with differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The content of TiO₂ nanoparticles varied between 0.5 and 10 wt %. Degradation studies, including hydrolytic degradation in a strong base medium (1N NaOH) and degradation under ultraviolet light at 365 nm, were performed. It was confirmed that the inorganic filler had no great influence on thermal properties such as the melting and crystallization temperatures. Improved degradation temperatures were also confirmed with the increase in the filler content. Degradation observations confirmed significant increases in hydrolytic erosion with the filler content increasing in comparison with the degradation of a pure PHBV film. Also, the photocatalytic activity of the inorganic filler TiO₂ in all investigated composites [irradiated at λ = 365 nm and immersed in a liquid medium (H₂O)] was evaluated. The degraded samples were analyzed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which confirmed their increased crystallinity. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Effect of Oligothienyl Chain Length on Tuning the Solar Cell Performance in Fluorene‐Based Polyplatinynes

A series of solution‐processable and strongly visible‐light absorbing polyplatinynes containing oligothienyl–fluorene ring hybrids were synthesized and characterized. These rigid‐rod organometallic materials are soluble in polar organic solvents and show intense absorptions in the visible spectral region, rendering them excellent candidates for bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. The photovoltaic behavior depends significantly on the number of thienyl rings along the polymer chain, and some of these polymer solar cells show high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of up to 2.9% and a peak external quantum efficiency to 83% under AM1.5 simulated solar illumination. The effect of oligothienyl chain length on improving the polymer solar cell efficiency and on their optical and charge transport properties is elucidated in detail. At the same blend ratio of 1:5, the light‐harvesting capability and PCE increase markedly with increasing number of thienyl rings. The power dependencies of the solar cell parameters (including the short‐circuit current density, open‐circuit voltage, fill‐factor, and PCE) were also examined. The present work opens up an attractive avenue to developing conjugated metallopolymers with broad and strong solar energy absorptions and tunable solar cell efficiency and supports the potential of metalated conjugated polymers for efficient power generation.     

Reduced decoder complexity and latency in pixel-domain Wyner–Ziv video coders

In some video coding applications, it is desirable to reduce the complexity of the video encoder at the expense of a more complex decoder. Wyner–Ziv (WZ) video coding is a new paradigm that aims to achieve this. To allocate a proper number of bits to each frame, most WZ video coding algorithms use a feedback channel, which allows the decoder to request additional bits when needed. However, due to these multiple bit requests, the complexity and the latency of WZ video decoders increase massively. To overcome these problems, in this paper we propose a rate allocation (RA) algorithm for pixel-domain WZ video coders. This algorithm estimates at the encoder the number of bits needed for the decoding of every frame while still keeping the encoder complexity low. Experimental results show that, by using our RA algorithm, the number of bit requests over the feedback channel—and hence, the decoder complexity and the latency—are significantly reduced. Meanwhile, a very near-to-optimal rate-distortion performance is maintained. This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and the European Commission (FEDER) under grant TEC2005-07751-C02-01. A. Pižurica is a postdoctoral research fellow of FWO, Flanders.     

Antioxidant properties of durian fruit as influenced by ripening

The antioxidant properties of durian (Durio zibethinus Murr., cv. Mon Thong) at different stages of ripening were investigated using fluorometry, UV spectroscopy, and HPLC/DAD analyses. Total polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins and flavanols in ripe durian were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in mature and overripe fruits. Free polyphenols and flavonoids were at lower levels than hydrolyzed ones. Caffeic acid and quercetin were the dominant antioxidant substances in ripe durian. In these fruits, methanol extracts contained a relatively high capacity of 74.9 ± 7.1% inhibition using β-carotene-linoleic acid assay. Ferric-reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) and cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assays supported this finding. The correlation coefficients between polyphenols and antioxidant capacities of durian samples with all applied assays were about 0.98. In conclusion, the bioactivity of ripe durian was high and the total polyphenols were the main contributors to the overall antioxidant capacity.     

Physicochemical,Antioxidative, and Sensory Properties of Refined Rapeseed Oils

Physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant capacity (AC), and sensory quality of rapeseed oils available on the Polish market were analyzed and compared. The fatty acid composition (saturated fatty acids = 6.91–7.58%, monounsaturated fatty acids = 64.14–66.14%, and polyunsaturated fatty acids = 27.22–30.17%), color (T420 = 54.5–83.8%), amounts of free fatty acids (0.02–0.07%), primary (PV = 0.04–2.04 meq O₂ kg⁻¹) and secondary (AV = 1.02–3.21) oxidation products, phosphorus (0.38–1.62 mg kg⁻¹), chlorophyll (0.002–0.068 mg kg⁻¹), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Σ4PAH = 0.00–2.50 μg kg⁻¹) in the commercial rapeseed oils meet the requirements of the European Food Regulation and Codex Alimentarius standards. Moreover, total phenolic content (TPC = 40.3–467.9 mg SA kg⁻¹) in the studied oils significantly differs from each other. However, the AC of rapeseed oils was analyzed using the novel iron oxide nanoparticle-based (IONP = 5552.1 − 18,510.2 μmol TE/100 g) method and the modified ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP = 55.7–280.3 μmol TE/100 g), cupric reducing AC (CUPRAC = 79.6–784.0 μmol TE/100 g), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH = 185.7–516.7 μmol TE/100 g), and 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS = 465.6–2142.6 μmol TE/100 g) assays. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were applied for discrimination of the refined rapeseed oils based on fatty acid composition, physicochemical parameters, AC, and sensory properties.     

Antioxidant capacity,total phenolics,glucosinolates and colour parameters of rapeseed cultivars

The antioxidant capacity of twenty nine rapeseed varieties was determined by using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods. Mean FRAP (3190–6326 μmol Trolox/100 g) and DPPH (3194–6346 μmol Trolox/100 g) values for methanolic extracts of rapeseed cultivars did not differ significantly. Moreover, the total content of phenolics (756–1324 mg sinapic acid/100 g), glucosinolates (4.2–87.5 μmol/g, respectively), erucic acid (0.0–56.1%) and colour parameters of the studied rapeseed cultivars were analysed. Antioxidant capacity determined by FRAP and DPPH methods correlated significantly with total phenolic content (TPC) in rapeseed cultivars (r = 0.9332, 0.9339, p < 0.001). Also, significant, inverse correlations were found between antioxidant capacity, total phenolics and luminosity (L^∗) or red colour intensity (a^∗) of rapeseed cultivars. Principal component analysis (PCA) allowed the rapeseed varieties to be differentiated based on their antioxidant capacities, total amounts of phenolics, glucosinolates, erucic acid and colour parameters.