Greedy Elites and Poor Lambs : How Young Europeans Remember the Great War

The present study examines current social representations associated with the origins of the Great War, a major event that has profoundly affected Europe. A survey conducted in 20 European countries (N = 1906 students in social sciences) shows a high consensus: The outbreak of the war is attributed to the warring nations' leaders while the responsibility of the populations is minimized. Building on the concept of social representation of history (Liu & Hilton, 2005), we suggest that the social representations of the Great War fulfill social psychological functions in contemporary Europe. We suggest that WWI may function as a charter for European integration. Their content also suggests a desire to distinguish a positively valued ingroup ("the people") from powerful elites, construed as an outgroup.Peer reviewe

Recent Developments of Nanostructured Electrodes for Bioelectrocatalysis of Dioxygen Reduction

The recent development of nanostructured electrodes for bioelectrocatalytic dioxygen reduction catalysed by two copper oxidoreductases, laccase and bilirubin oxidase, is reviewed. Carbon-based nanomaterials as carbon nanotubes or carbon nanoparticles are frequently used for electrode modification, whereas there are only few examples of biocathodes modified with metal or metal oxide nanoparticles. These nanomaterials are adsorbed on the electrode surface or embedded in multicomponent film. The nano-objects deposited act as electron shuttles between the enzyme and the electrode substrate providing favourable conditions for mediatorless bioelectrocatalysis

Membrane Bound Enzyme Hosted in Liquid Crystalline Cubic Phase for Sensing and Fuel Cells

Monoolein or phytantriol liquid crystalline cubic phase and carbon nanotubes were employed as the matrices for the immobilization of a membrane bound enzyme–fructose dehydrogenase (FDH). Entrapment within the cubic phase protects the guest protein from chemical and physical degradation, thereby facilitating retention of its native conformation and bioactivity. The mesophase environment was therefore found appropriate for retaining FDH close to the electrode surface. Phytantriol was used as the cubic phase component in case of measurements carried out in biological fluids containing hydrolyzing enzymes. Fructose dehydrogenase shows direct electron transfer when embedded in the matrix, thus does not require any mediators. The bioanode was employed as a biosensing device for fructose. Due to the resistance of fructose dehydrogenase to oxygen it was found useful for the construction of a membrane less biofuel cell. The enzymatic fuel cell based on FDH in the cubic phase film at the anode and laccase at the biocathode showed open circuit potential of 703 ± 10 mV in the presence of 40 mM fructose in buffer solution, and power density of 850 μW cm−2 at 250 mV in solutions under conditions of continuous flow of dioxygen