Synthesis of 1,8-naphthalimide-based probes with fluorescent switch triggered by flufenamic acid

This work was supported by the European Commission Marie Curie IEF NANOGEND (ga 299266) to DV and the European Commission Marie Curie ITN NANODRUG (ga 289454) to GS

PELATIHAN PENGGUNAAN APLIKASI CANVA SEBAGAI MEDIA PEMBUATAN BAHAN AJAR DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA INGGRIS

Pembelajaran daring merupakan salah satu solusi dunia pendidikan untuk tetap melakukan kegiatan belajar mengajar dalam kondisi pandemi sekarang ini. Namun, hal ini pun tidak datang tanpa tantangan, salah satunya adalah kurangnya motivasi siswa dalam belajar daring. Untuk meningkatkan motivasi siswa, maka diperlukan bahan ajar yang menarik perhatian siswa sehingga pembelajaran tidak akan membosankan. Canva merupakan aplikasi yang dapat digunakan oleh guru untuk membuat bahan ajar yang menarik. Tujuan dari kegiatan ini adalah meningkatkan kemampuan guru dalam berkreasi untuk menciptakan bahan ajar menggunakan aplikasi canva. Adapun langkah-langkah kegiatan yang dilakukan dalam pengabdian pada masyarakat ini meliputi beberapa tahapan, diantaranya: a) tahap analisis, b) tahap perancangan, c) tahap pengembangan konten d) tahap pelatihan, dan e) tahap evaluasi

Influence of the Extrusion Process on Characteristics and Structure of Pasta

The effects of the kneading and forming process or pasta quality have been investigated. Using the same blend of wheat flour and keeping mixing and drying conditions constant, three types of spaghetti were produced using the following three kneading and forming processes: A) kneading with a continuous press and forming by pressure-extrusion; B) kneading and forming by sheeting-rolls; C) kneading by hand and forming with sheeting-rolls. These three processes impart different mechanical work on the dough. The three types of dried spaghetti exhibited differences in cooking requirements and in cooing quality. Spaghetti (A) absorbed water more slowly and showed poor cooking quality. Spaghetti (B) and (C) had a shorter cooking time, no stickiness and good firmness after cooking. Spaghetti compactness seems to control water absorption during cooking, i.e., the greater the compactness, the longer the cooking time. Nevertheless, compactness does not explain differences in cooking quality. On the contrary, this characteristic is clearly related to the different organization of proteins, as transmission and scanning electron microscopy images revealed. In fact both spaghetti (B) and (C) showed a compact and continuous protein network, probably as a consequence of the mild and ordered kneading obtained by the sheeting process. Spaghetti (A), produced by dough kneading implying strong mechanical stresses, exhibited protein network breakage which may account for its poor cooking quality. The results of the present work indicate that industrial kneading and extrusion, as performed today in the continuous press, are unsuitable for making the best use of poor quality raw materials. The pressure-extrusion process requires technological innovations which could ensure spaghetti with cooking quality comparable to that produced in the traditional sheeting process as well as high productivity

Influence of surface chemistry and morphology of nanoparticles on protein corona formation

Nanomaterials offer promising solutions as drug delivery systems and imaging agents in response to the demand for better therapeutics and diagnostics. However, the limited understanding of the interaction between nanoparticles and biological entities is currently hampering the development of new systems and their applications in clinical settings. Proteins and lipids in biological fluids are known to complex with nanoparticles to form a “biomolecular corona”. This has been shown to affect particles' morphology and behavior in biological systems and their interactions with cells. Hence, understanding how nanomaterials' physicochemical properties affect the formation and composition of this biocorona is a crucial step. This work evaluates existing literature on how morphology (size and shape), and surface chemistry (charge and hydrophobicity) of nanoparticles influence the formation of protein corona. The latest evidence suggest that although surface charge promotes the interaction with proteins and lipids, surface chemistry plays a leading role in determining the affinity of the nanoparticle for biomolecules and, ultimately, the composition of the corona. More recently the study of additional nanoparticles' properties like shape and surface chirality have demonstrated a significant effect on protein corona architecture, providing new tools to tailor biomolecular corona formation. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies. Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Toxicology of Nanomaterials

Smart nanogels at the air/water interface: structural studies by neutron reflectivity

STFC for provision of consumables and subsistence and access to the ILL facility through the STFC managed UK contribution to the facility (EXP: 9-13-530, 9-11-1721 and 9-11-17446). The European Commission (FP7 Marie Curie Actions, NANOLEM, PIEF-GA-2013-627146 to KZ) and the Chinese Scholarship Council (studentship to HS) are gratefully acknowledged for financial support

Ultrastructure of Cooked Spaghetti

Several electron microscopy (EM) complementary techniques (scanning electron microscopy, freeze-fracturing and thin-sectioning) have been applied in the ultrastructural study of spaghetti. Experimental spaghetti have been produced starting from two semolinas from the same wheat cultivar and using a low temperature (LT) and very high temperature (VHT) drying schemes. Cooking quality of these products was not related to the quantity of the main components present in semolina. however, the drying conditions (temperature and humidity) and the nature of the cooking water greatly influenced cooking characteristics. The three EM techniques were used to detected differences in protein and starch organization in relationship to spaghetti quality. Structural differences present in the uncooked product were more evident after cooking. in particular, in each high quality spaghetti, interesting macromolecular arrangements were always found inside starch granules. These new structures, which were dramatically promoted by VHT drying, exhibited an exceptional resistance to alpha-amylase digestion

Bare carbon electrodes as simple and efficient sensors for the quantification of caffeine in commercial beverages

This work has been supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 642014 (IPCOS). Ĺ.Š. would like to acknowledge the Grant Agency of the Slovak Republic (grant no. 1/0489/16)

Simultaneous quantification of antioxidants paraxanthine and caffeine in human saliva by electrochemical sensing for CYP1A2 phenotyping

The enzyme CYP1A2 is responsible for the metabolism of numerous antioxidants in the body, including caffeine, which is transformed into paraxanthine, its main primary metabolite. Both molecules are known for their antioxidant and pro-oxidant characteristics, and the paraxanthine-to-caffeine molar ratio is a widely accepted metric for CYP1A2 phenotyping, to optimize dose\u2013 response effects in individual patients. We developed a simple, cheap and fast electrochemical based method for the simultaneous quantification of paraxanthine and caffeine in human saliva, by differential pulse voltammetry, using an anodically pretreated glassy carbon electrode. Cyclic voltammetry experiments revealed for the first time that the oxidation of paraxanthine is diffusion controlled with an irreversible peak at ca. +1.24 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in a 0.1 M H2 SO4 solution, and that the mechanism occurs via the transfer of two electrons and two protons. The simultaneous quantification of paraxanthine and caffeine was demonstrated in 0.1 M H2 SO4 and spiked human saliva samples. In the latter case, limits of detection of 2.89 \ub5M for paraxanthine and 5.80 \ub5M for caffeine were obtained, respectively. The sensor is reliable, providing a relative standard deviation within 7% (n = 6). Potential applicability of the sensing platform was demonstrated by running a small scale trial on five healthy volunteers, with simultaneous quantification by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) of paraxanthine and caffeine in saliva samples collected at 1, 3 and 6 h postdose administration. The results were validated by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography and shown to have a high correlation factor (r = 0.994)