The kinetics of L10 superstructure formation in the Cu–56Au alloy (at. %): resistometric study

Due to the improved strength properties compared to the equiatomic Cu–50 at. % Au alloy, non-stoichiometric Cu–56 at. % Au alloy can be used both in dentistry and as a corrosion-resistant conductor of weak electrical signals in tool engineering. The work studies the kinetics of the disorder→order phase transformation in the Cu–56Au alloy, during which the disordered fcc lattice (A1-phase) is rearranged into an atomically ordered one with the L10 superstructure. The initial disordered state of the alloy was obtained in two ways: applying plastic deformation by 90 % or quenching at a temperature of above 600 °C (i. e., from the region of the A1-phase existence). To form the L10 superstructure, annealing was carried out at temperatures of 200, 225, and 250 °C. The annealing duration ranged from 1 h to 2 months. Resistometry was chosen as the main technique to study the kinetics of the disorder→order transformation. The temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity of the alloy in various structural states are obtained. The authors constructed the graphs of the electrical resistance dependence on the annealing time logarithm, based on which, the rate of the new phase formation was estimated. To evaluate the structural state of the alloy at various transformation stages, the authors used X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The crystal structure rearrangement during the transformation is shown by the example of splitting the initial cubic A1-phase peak (200) into two tetragonal ordered L10 phase peaks – (200) and (002). Based on the resistometry and X-ray diffraction analysis data, the authors carried out a quantitative assessment of the rate of the disorder→order phase transformation in the alloy under the study. It is established that the values of the converted volume fraction (resistometry) and the long-range order degree (X-ray diffraction analysis) are close. The study shows that in the temperature range of 200–250 °C, the rate of atomic ordering according to the L10 type in the nonstoichiometric alloy Cu–56 at. % Au is maximum at 250 °C. It is identified that the disorder→order transformation in the initially quenched specimens of the investigated alloy proceeds approximately an order of magnitude faster than in preliminarily deformed specimens

Commercial communication of RED BULL on the Czech market

Cílem Bakalářské práce je definovat komerční komunikaci společnosti Red Bull GmbH na českém trhu. Teoretická část práce pomůže pochopit druhou, praktickou část. V práci bude čtenáři krok po kroku představena značka Red Bull a její skrytá identita ale také obraz v očích konzumenta. Umožněné to bude analýzou postavení společnosti na českém trhu, spolu s jejich jedinečným a originálním způsobem komunikace. Dále realizace případové studie Red Bullu se uskuteční skrz primárního výzkumu, který sloužil jako hlavní zdroj informací.Cílem Bakalářské práce je definovat komerční komunikaci společnosti Red Bull GmbH na českém trhu. Teoretická část práce pomůže pochopit druhou, praktickou část. V práci bude čtenáři krok po kroku představena značka Red Bull a její skrytá identita ale také obraz v očích konzumenta. Umožněné to bude analýzou postavení společnosti na českém trhu, spolu s jejich jedinečným a originálním způsobem komunikace. Dále realizace případové studie Red Bullu se uskuteční skrz primárního výzkumu, který sloužil jako hlavní zdroj informací

Účinnost srovnávací reklamy v České republice

This thesis aims to analyze the effectiveness of Direct versus Indirect comparative advertising in low and high-context communication cultures in Czech Republic. These two groups are represented by Czech consumers and Vietnamese minority. The goal is to determine potential differences in the attitude towards this marketing technique among the two culturally distinguished groups. The effectiveness of the ad was measure using two constructs: attitude towards the ad and persuasion effect. For the purpose of this study a survey was conducted among 200 consumers, in the capital of Czech Republic, Prague. Czech consumers were found to have a more positive attitude toward the direct comparative advertising than Vietnamese consumers. Further, the Vietnamese respondents showed a significantly better acceptance of indirect comparative advertising than of the direct comparative one. In addition, it was found that the age category does have a slight influence on the consumers attitude towards the comparative advertising. The recommendations from this thesis, can serve as a basis for better strategical and tactical decisions concerning the usage of comparative advertising.Tato práce si klade za cíl analyzovat účinnost přímé versus nepřímé srovnávací reklamy v nízko a vysoko kontextových komunikačních kulturách v České republice. Tyto dvě skupiny zastupují čeští spotřebitelé a vietnamská menšina. Cílem je zjistit potenciální rozdíly v přístupu k této marketingové technice mezi dvěma kulturně odlišnými skupinami. Účinnost reklamy byla měřena pomocí dvou konstruktů: postoj k reklamě a přesvědčovací účinek. Pro účely této studie byl proveden průzkum mezi 200 spotřebiteli v hlavním městě České republiky v Praze. Bylo zjištěno, že čeští spotřebitelé mají k přímé srovnávací reklamě pozitivnější postoj než vietnamští spotřebitelé. Vietnamští respondenti dále prokázali výrazně lepší přijetí nepřímé srovnávací reklamy než přímé srovnávací reklamy. Kromě toho bylo zjištěno, že věková kategorie má mírný vliv na postoj spotřebitelů vůči srovnávací reklamě. Doporučení z této práce mohou sloužit jako základ pro lepší strategická a taktická rozhodnutí týkající se použití srovnávací reklamy

Commercial communication of RED BULL on the Czech market

Cílem Bakalářské práce je definovat komerční komunikaci společnosti Red Bull GmbH na českém trhu. Teoretická část práce pomůže pochopit druhou, praktickou část. V práci bude čtenáři krok po kroku představena značka Red Bull a její skrytá identita ale také obraz v očích konzumenta. Umožněné to bude analýzou postavení společnosti na českém trhu, spolu s jejich jedinečným a originálním způsobem komunikace. Dále realizace případové studie Red Bullu se uskuteční skrz primárního výzkumu, který sloužil jako hlavní zdroj informací

The Profile of Exopolysaccharides Produced by Various <i>Lactobacillus</i> Species from Silage during Not-Fat Milk Fermentation

The exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and released into fermented milk play a protective role from stress factors as well as improve emulsifying and thickening properties of the product, reduce syneresis, and increase elasticity. Here we report the relationship between the properties, composition, and microstructure of EPS produced by six different strains of lactobacilli (L. bulgaricus and five strains isolated from silage). The presence of fructose together with negative-charged uronic acid was found to play a significant role in changing the EPS properties. Thus, the increased fraction of rhamnose and arabinose and a decrease in xylose leads to compaction of the EPS, decreased porosity and increased both OH- and superoxide scavenging and Fe-chelating activities. By contrast, increased xylose and low rhamnose and arabinose apparently leads to loss of large aggregates and high DPPH activity and FRAP. The high content of glucose, however, provides the formation of large pores. The increased fructan fraction (69.9 mol%) with a high fraction of galacturonic (18.2 mol%) and glucuronic acids (6.7 mol%) apparently determines the highly porous spongy-folded EPS microstructure. Taken together, our results indicate that both the quantitative characteristics of the individual components of the fraction and the structural features of EPS are important for the antioxidant potential of fermented milk and depend on the strain used for milk fermentation, suggesting the advantage of a multicomponent starter to achieve the optimal beneficial properties of fermented milk

Terahertz spectra of drug-laden magnetic nanoparticles

International audienc

Noninvasive treatment of focal adenomyosis with MR-guided focused ultrasound in two patients

Adenomyosis is a common benign gynecological disorder presenting with dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, and pressure symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) utilizes precisely focused USG waves to generate and maintain high temperatures within the targeted tissue to achieve protein denaturation and coagulative necrosis. The heat generated is monitored using MRI images acquired in real-time in three planes. We present two cases of focal adenomyosis treated with MRgFUS showing good symptomatic relief at 3 and 6 months follow-up

Prognosis of Alzheimer&rsquo;s Disease Using Quantitative Mass Spectrometry of Human Blood Plasma Proteins and Machine Learning

Early recognition of the risk of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease (AD) onset is a global challenge that requires the development of reliable and affordable screening methods for wide-scale application. Proteomic studies of blood plasma are of particular relevance; however, the currently proposed differentiating markers are poorly consistent. The targeted quantitative multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) assay of the reported candidate biomarkers (CBs) can contribute to the creation of a consistent marker panel. An MRM-MS analysis of 149 nondepleted EDTA&ndash;plasma samples (MHRC, Russia) of patients with AD (n = 47), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 36), vascular dementia (n = 8), frontotemporal dementia (n = 15), and an elderly control group (n = 43) was performed using the BAK 125 kit (MRM Proteomics Inc., Canada). Statistical analysis revealed a significant decrease in the levels of afamin, apolipoprotein E, biotinidase, and serum paraoxonase/arylesterase 1 associated with AD. Different training algorithms for machine learning were performed to identify the protein panels and build corresponding classifiers for the AD prognosis. Machine learning revealed 31 proteins that are important for AD differentiation and mostly include reported earlier CBs. The best-performing classifiers reached 80% accuracy, 79.4% sensitivity and 83.6% specificity and were able to assess the risk of developing AD over the next 3 years for patients with MCI. Overall, this study demonstrates the high potential of the MRM approach combined with machine learning to confirm the significance of previously identified CBs and to propose consistent protein marker panels