Molecular layer deposition of "magnesicone", a magnesium-based hybrid material

Molecular layer deposition (MLD) offers the deposition of ultrathin and conformal organic or hybrid films which have a wide range of applications. However, some critical potential applications require a very specific set of properties. For application as desiccant layers in water barrier films, for example, the films need to exhibit water uptake and swelling and be overcoatable. For application as a backbone for a solid composite electrolyte for lithium ions on the other hand, the films need to be stable against lithium and need to be transformable from a hybrid MLD film to a porous metal oxide film. Magnesium-based MLD films, called "magnesicone", are promising on both these aspects, and thus, an MLD process is developed using Mg(MeCp)(2) as a metal source and ethylene glycol (EG) or glycerol (GL) as organic reactants. Saturated growth could be achieved at 2 to 3 angstrom/cycle in a wide temperature window from 100 to 250 degrees C. The resulting magnesicone films react with ambient air and exhibit water uptake, which is in the case of the GL-based films associated with swelling (up to 10%) and in the case of EG-based magnesicone with Mg(CO)(3) formation, and are overcoatable with an ALD of Al2O3. Furthermore, by carefully tuning the annealing rate, the EG-grown films can be made porous at 350 degrees C. Hence, these functional tests demonstrate the potential of magnesicone films as reactive barrier layers and as the porous backbone of lithium ion composite solid electrolytes, making it a promising material for future applications

Variation in population levels of sedentary time in European children and adolescents according to cross-European studies: a systematic literature review within DEDIPAC

peer-reviewedBackground: A high amount of sedentary time has been proposed as a risk factor for various health outcomes in adults. While the evidence is less clear in children and adolescents, monitoring sedentary time is important to understand the prevalence rates and how this behaviour varies over time and by place. This systematic literature review aims to provide an overview of existing cross-European studies on sedentary time in children (0-12y) and adolescents (13-18y), to describe the variation in population levels of sedentary time, and to discuss the impact of assessment methods. Methods: Six literature databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SportDiscus and OpenGrey), followed by backward- and forward tracking and searching authors’ and experts’ literature databases. Included articles were observational studies reporting on levels of sedentary time in the general population of children and/or adolescents in at least two European countries. Population levels were reported separately for children and adolescents. Data were reviewed, extracted and assessed by two researchers, with disagreements being resolved by a third researcher. The review protocol is published under registration number CRD42014013379 in the PROSPERO database. Forty-two eligible articles were identified, most were cross-sectional (n = 38). The number of included European countries per article ranged from 2 to 36. Levels of sedentary time were observed to be higher in East-European countries compared to the rest of Europe. There was a large variation in assessment methods and reported outcome variables. The majority of articles used a child-specific questionnaire (60 %). Other methods included accelerometers, parental questionnaires or interviews and ecological momentary assessment tools. Television time was reported as outcome variable in 57 % of included articles (ranging from a mean value of 1 h to 2.7 h in children and 1.3 h to 4.4 h in adolescents), total sedentary time in 24 % (ranging from a mean value of 192 min to 552 min in children and from 268 min to 506 min in adolescents). A substantial number of published studies report on levels of sedentary time in children and adolescents across European countries, but there was a large variation in assessment methods. Questionnaires (child specific) were used most often, but they mostly measured specific screen-based activities and did not assess total sedentary time. There is a need for harmonisation and standardisation of objective and subjective methods to assess sedentary time in children and adolescents to enable comparison across countries

Effect of acylglycerol composition on the microstructural and functional properties of bakery fats and margarines

In the past, especially fats with a high content of unhealthy saturated fats were used to give bakery margarines ideal plastic properties. Therefore, this research treated the importance of the chemical fat composition for the microstructural and functional properties of bakery fats and margarines. Insight herein may lead to the development of more healthy products with a reduced saturated fatty acid level. Two research questions divided the work in two main parts. The first research question treated the possibilities to reduce the saturated fatty acid level by using monoacylglycerols, which are frequently used as emulsifiers in margarines. However, these components were not selected for their emulsifying properties, but for their crystallization and melting properties comparable to triacylglycerols. A monoacylglycerol containing substitution sample was selected based on its solid fat profile. However, a lower consistency than expected was obtained when using this sample in bakery margarine systems, due to the presence of mesomorphic phases. Moreover, a negative film formation in the mouth was observed when consuming products made with the substitution sample. Based on the results of the first part, a second research question was formulated focusing its attention more on triacylglycerols. In this second research part the importance of the triacylglycerol composition for the development of the desired structure and functionality of fat systems crystallized under shear was hereby investigated. A broad range of triacylglycerol blends were analyzed with the same SFC (35%) at either 15°C or 20°C. By varying the hardstock components in the blends different series were constructed focusing all on a variation of the triacylglycerol composition. The different analyses elucidated the importance of the triacylglycerol composition for the further microstructural built-up of fat systems crystallized under shear. For example, PPP-rich blends have a high crystallization rate under shear. On the contrary, SOS-rich blends behaved in a totally different way. Sintering of the fat crystal network was more pronounced for these samples and during storage at 20°C a strong grainy structure was formed

The added strength of combining clinical screening tests and functional motion analysis: a case study

Fatigue has a large effect on running economy and running efficiency in various ways [1-2]. Reducing these effects will have a beneficial effect on performance, yet the process of reducing these effects can be complicated due to the large variation in which these effects take form in individual athletes. Here we present a case study of a 24 year old female 800m runner for whom we compare results from a clinical sport specific functional screening (SSFS) with results from a 3D running analysis (3D RA) pre and post fatigue.status: publishe

Crystallization of model fat blends containing symmetric and asymmetric triacylglycerols

In this study, the crystallization and melting properties of four different fat blends with the same saturated fat content (30%) but with different ratios of symmetric and asymmetric monounsaturated triacylglycerols were investigated using pNMR, DSC and polarized light microscopy. Blends were either palmitic (P) or stearic (S) based, and were combinations of SatOSat-rich (Sat = saturated, O = oleic) and SatSatO-rich vegetable oils with high-oleic sunflower oil. The DSC results demonstrate that there was almost no difference in crystallization mechanism and crystallization rate between the two P-based blends. Both blends showed a two-step crystallization, which can be explained by polymorphism. Stop-and-return DSC results suggested an initial crystallization into an unstable polymorph followed by polymorphic transition during the crystallization. For the S-based blends there was a clear difference between the SOS-rich and the SSO-rich blend, with a slower crystallization for the SSO-rich blend. Possibly, this can be explained by fractional crystallization. The microstructure did not differ greatly between the blends. Directly after crystallization, the crystals of the SSO-rich blend were slightly larger than the crystals of the SOS-rich blend

Effect of SatSatSat and SatOSat on crystallization of model fat blends

In this study, the crystallization and melting properties of six different fat blends with the same saturated fat content (30%) but with a varying content of trisaturated and disaturated triacylglycerols were investigated using pulsed NMR, DSC and polarized light microscopy. Blends were either palmitic (P) or stearic (S) based, and were combinations of SatSatSat-rich (Sat = saturated) and SatOSat-rich (O = oleic) vegetable oils with high-oleic sunflower oil. The DSC results suggested that PPP forms mixed crystals with POP, leading to a better seeding of the crystallization process than did SSS with SOS. Some blends showed a two-step crystallization, which can be explained by polymorphism. Stop-and-return DSC results suggested an initial crystallization into an unstable polymorph followed by polymorphic transformation during the crystallization for those blends with significant amounts of SatSatSat. Polymorphic transformation was not seen for the blends with low SatSatSat. However, the microstructure of such blends changed dramatically during storage, while the microstructure of the blends with the higher SatSatSat content did not