On the GRAS status of seaweeds. I. Observations on the association between antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts and metal levels present in selected seaweeds.

The relationship between antibacterial activity and levels of 24 metals in 19 selected southern African seaweeds was examined. The antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts of these seaweeds was assessed by agar diffusion against selected Gram positive and Gram negative test bacteria. Metal levels associated with seaweeds were determined using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. Extracts of the Phaeophyta exhibited the highest level of antibacterial activity, followed by the Rhodophyta and then the Chlorophyta, in decreasing order. Metal levels, however, were highest in the examples studied from the Rhodophyta and then the Phaeophyta and Chlorophyta, in decreasing order. There was no relationship between the observed antibacterial activity of the crude extracts tested and the levels of metals occurring in their tissues. Thus the antimicrobial activity of extracts from the seaweeds tested should also be generally recognised as safe (GRAS)

Interface sharpening in CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions

We report grazing incidence x-ray scattering evidence for sharpening of the interface between amorphous Co60Fe20B20 and AlOx during in situ annealing below the Co60Fe20B20 crystallization temperature. Enhancement of the interference fringe amplitude in the specular scatter and the absence of changes in the diffuse scatter indicate that the sharpening is not a reduction in topological roughness but a reduction in the width of the chemical composition profile across the interface. The temperature at which the sharpening occurs corresponds to that at which a maximum is found in the tunneling magnetoresistance of magnetic tunnel junctions

Microstructural and morphological properties of homoepitaxial (001)ZnTe layers investigated by x-ray diffuse scattering

The microstructural and morphological properties of homoepitaxial (001)ZnTe layers are investigated by x-ray diffuse scattering. High resolution reciprocal space maps recorded close to the ZnTe (004) Bragg peak show different diffuse scattering features. One kind of cross-shaped diffuse scattering streaks along directions can be attributed to stacking faults within the epilayers. Another kind of cross-shaped streaks inclined at an angle of about 80deg with respect to the in-plane direction arises from the morphology of the epilayers. (abridged version