Neocuproine-functionalized silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles for extraction of copper(II) from aqueous solution

Neocuproine has been covalently bound to silica-coated maghemite(c-Fe2O3) magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) by a phenyl ether linkage. The resulting MNPs are able to remove Cu(II) from 12 ppm aqueous solution with an extraction efficiency of up to 99% at pH 2.

Simultaneous coupling of phototaxis and electrotaxis in Volvox algae

In nature, living creatures are affected by several stimuli simultaneously. The response of living creatures to stimuli is called taxis. In order to reveal the principles of taxis behavior in response to complex stimuli, we simultaneously applied photostimulation and electric stimulation perpendicularly to a Volvox algae solution. The probability distribution of the swimming direction showed that a large population of swimming cells moved in a direction that was the result of the composition of phototaxis and electrotaxis. More surprisingly, we uncovered the coupling of signs of taxis, i.e., coupling of phototaxis and electrotaxis induced positive electrotaxis, which did not emerge in the single stimulation experiments. We qualitatively explained the coupling of taxis based on the polarization of the swimming cells induced by the simultaneous photo- and electric stimulation.

Extraction of unexpected rules from Twitter hashtags and its application to sport events

Twitter has become a dependable microblogging tool for real time information dissemination and newsworthy events broadcast. Its users sometimes break news on the network faster than traditional newsagents due to their presence at ongoing real life events at most times. Different topic detection methods are currently used to match Twitter posts to real life news of mainstream media. In this paper, we analyse tweets relating to the English FA Cup finals 2012 by applying our novel method named TRCM to extract association rules present in hash tag keywords of tweets in different time-slots. Our system identify evolving hash tag keywords with strong association rules in each time-slot. We then map the identified hash tag keywords to event highlights of the game as reported in the ground truth of the main stream media. The performance effectiveness measure of our experiments show that our method perform well as a Topic Detection and Tracking approach.

Transreal logical space of all propositions

Transreal numbers provide a total semantics containing classical truth values, dialetheaic, fuzzy and gap values. A paraconsistent Sheffer Stroke generalises all classical logics to a paraconsistent form. We introduce logical spaces of all possible worlds and all propositions. We operate on a proposition, in all possible worlds, at the same time. We define logical transformations, possibility and necessity relations, in proposition space, and give a criterion to determine whether a proposition is classical. We show that proofs, based on the conditional, infer gaps only from gaps and that negative and positive infinity operate as bottom and top values.

Enzyme assisted extraction of chitin from shrimp shells (Litopenaeus vannamei)

BACKGROUND: Chemical chitin extraction generates large amounts of wastes and increases partial deacetylation of the product. Therefore, the use of biological methods for chitin extraction is an interesting alternative. The effects of process conditions on enzyme assisted extraction of chitin from the shrimp shells in a systematic way were the focal points of this study. RESULTS: Demineralisation conditions of 25C, 20 min, shells-lactic acid ratio of 1:1.1 w/w; and shells-acetic acid ratio of 1:1.2 w/w, the maximum demineralisation values were 98.64 and 97.57% for lactic and acetic acids, respectively. A total protein removal efficiency of 91.10% by protease from Streptomyces griseus with enzyme-substrate ratio 55 U/g, pH 7.0 and incubation time 3 h is obtained when the particle size range is 50-25 μm, which was identified as the most critical factor. The X-ray diffraction and 13C NMR spectroscopy analysis showed that the lower percent crystallinity and higher degree of acetylation of chitin from enzyme assisted extraction may exhibit better solubility properties and less depolymerisation in comparison with chitin from the chemical extraction. CONCLUSION: The present work investigates the effects of individual factors on process yields, and it has shown that, if the particle size is properly controlled a reaction time of 3 h is more than enough for deproteination by protease. Physicochemical analysis indicated that the enzyme assisted production of chitin seems appropriate to extract chitin, possibly retaining its native structure.

On universal and periodic β-expansions, and the Hausdorff dimension of the set of all expansions

We study the topology of a set naturally arising from the study of β-expansions. After proving several elementary results for this set we study the case when our base is Pisot. In this case we give necessary and sufficient conditions for this set to be finite. This finiteness property will allow us to generalise a theorem due to Schmidt and will provide the motivation for sufficient conditions under which the growth rate and Hausdorff dimension of the set of β-expansions are equal and explicitly calculable.

Missing out? Challenges to hearing the views of all children on the barriers and supports to learning

Children's views are essential to enabling schools to fulfil their duties under the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and create inclusive learning environments. Arguably children are the best source of information about the ways in which schools support their learning and what barriers they encounter. Accessing this requires a deeper level of reflection than simply asking what children find difficult. It is also a challenge to ensure that the views of all children contribute including those who find communication difficult. Development work in five schools is drawn on to analyse the ways in which teachers used suggestions for three interview activities. The data reveals the strengths and limitations of different ways of supporting the communication process.