Comparative study of total phenolic content and radical scavenging activity of conventionally and organically grown herbs

The aim of the present study was to measure the relative phenolic content in commonly available conventionally and organically grown herbs and to evaluate their antioxidant capacity. Sage (Salvia officinalis), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and peppermint (Mentha x piperita) leaves, corriander (Corriandrum sativum) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seeds were used in the present investigation. Total phenolic content (TPhC), measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method, and radical scavenging activity (RSA), using DPPH method were determined in infusions prepared from above mentioned herbs. TPhC ranged from 75.9 to 1126.5 gallic acid equivalents (GAE) mg/l infusion and RSA – from 7.03 to 91.65%. The obtained data also showed that infusions prepared from organically grown sage, peppermint and lemon balm were slightly higher than those obtained from conventionally grown herbs

The ATLAS Tracking Geometry Description

Track reconstruction requires a detector geometry description for the usage in track extrapolation processes and material effects integration during track finding and track fitting. Since, in general, the more realistic detector description used in full detector simulation causes an unacceptable increase of CPU time consumption when being used in track reconstruction, the reconstruction geometry is realised as a simplified description of the actual detector layout. This documents presents the data classes of the newly developed ATLAS reconstruction geometry and describes its building process for the ATLAS CSC detector layouts. Additionally a comparison of the material budget described by the reconstruction geometry with one used in full detector simulation will be presented for the Inner Detector and the Calorimeter

The 22-year cycle in the geomagnetic 27-day recurrences reflecting on the F2-layer ionization

Solar cycle variations of the amplitudes of the 27-day solar rotation period reflected in the geomagnetic activity index <i>A<sub>p</sub></i>, solar radio flux F10.7cm and critical frequency <i>fo</i>F2 for mid-latitude ionosonde station Moscow from the maximum of sunspot cycle 18 to the maximum of cycle 23 are examined. The analysis shows that there are distinct enhancements of the 27-day amplitudes for <i>fo</i>F2 and <i>A<sub>p</sub></i> in the late declining phase of each solar cycle while the amplitudes for F10.7cm decrease gradually, and the <i> fo</i>F2 and <i>A<sub>p</sub></i> amplitude peaks are much larger for even-numbered solar cycles than for the odd ones. Additionally, we found the same even-high and odd-low pattern of <i>fo</i>F2 for other mid-latitude ionosonde stations in Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This property suggests that there exists a 22-year cycle in the F2-layer variability coupled with the 22-year cycle in the 27-day recurrence of geomagnetic activity.<br><br> <b>Key words.</b> Ionosphere (mid-latitude ionosphere; ionosphere- magnetosphere interactions) – Magnetospheric physics (solar wind-magnetosphere interactions

Oxide formation at the surface of late 4d transition metals: Insights from first-principles atomistic thermodynamics

Using density-functional theory we assess the stability of bulk and surface oxides of the late 4d transition metals in a ``constrained equilibrium'' with a gas phase formed of O2 and CO. While the stability range of the most stable bulk oxide extends for ruthenium well into gas phase conditions representative of technological CO oxidation catalysis, this is progressively less so for the 4d metals to its right in the periodic system. Surface oxides could nevertheless still be stable under such conditions. These thermodynamic considerations are discussed in the light of recent experiments, emphasizing the role of (surface) oxides as the active phase of model catalysts formed from these metals.Comment: 7 pages including 3 figures, Related publications can be found at http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm

Everyday cosmopolitanism in representations of Europe among young Romanians in Britain

The paper presents an analysis of everyday cosmopolitanism in constructions of Europe among young Romanian nationals living in Britain. Adopting a social representations approach, cosmopolitanism is understood as a cultural symbolic resource that is part of everyday knowledge. Through a discursively-oriented analysis of focus group data, we explore the ways in which notions of cosmopolitanism intersect with images of Europeanness in the accounts of participants. We show that, for our participants, representations of Europe are anchored in an Orientalist schema of West-vs.-East, whereby the West is seen as epitomising European values of modernity and progress, while the East is seen as backward and traditional. Our findings further show that representations of cosmopolitanism reinforce this East/West dichotomy, within a discourse of ‘Occidental cosmopolitanism’. The paper concludes with a critical discussion of the diverse and complex ideological foundations of these constructions of European cosmopolitanism and their implications

Cotton fabric: a natural matrix suitable for controlled release systems

The possibility to use cotton as a matrix for controlled release systems was studied by covalently attaching a model compound, specifically the reactive dye Remazol Brilliant Blue R to its surface. Afterwards the fabric was coated with a commercial cellulase. The release of the dye, obtained by the hydrolysis of cotton fibres in sweat buffer, was monitored. The reducing sugars concentration increased for both fabrics (with and without the dye covalently fixed) while the increase in the absorbance was only attained for the dyed cotton, as expected. These results confirm the viability of using cotton as a natural matrix for controlled released systems while presenting a promising approach to immobilize covalently other substances in cotton garments, like fragrances, which could be released by the action of human sweat