Redispersion and Self-Assembly of C60 Fullerene in Water and Toluene

ACS Omega

DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.7b00049

This work aims at assessing the influence of two different solvents, bidistilled water and toluene, on dispersions of carbon-based engineered nanomaterials, namely, fullerenes, and their self-assembly behavior. The obtained self-assembled carbon-based materials were characterized using UV–vis spectrophotometry and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The results obtained were unexpected when toluene was used for dispersing fullerene C60, with the formation of two different types of self-assembled structures: fullerene C60 nanowhiskers (FNWs) and a type of quasispherical nanostructure. The FNWs ranged between 1 and 6 μm in length, whereas the quasispherical fullerene C60 nanoaggregates ranged between 10 and 50 nm in diameter. Aggregates obtained in toluene showed a well-formed crystal structure. When using water, the obtained aggregates were amorphous and showed a no well-defined shape. Their sizes ranged between 20 and 40 nm for nanosized structures and between 0.4 and 4.8 μm for micron-sized self-aggregates.

Climate-induced changes in river water temperature in North Iberian Peninsula

Theor Appl Climatol 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-017-2183-9

This study evaluates the effects of climate change on the thermal regime of 12 rivers in the Northern Iberian Peninsula by using a non-linear regression model that employs air temperature as the only input variable. Prediction of future air temperature was obtained from five regional climate models (RCMs) under emission scenario Special Report on Emissions Scenarios A1B. Prior to simulation of water temperature, air temperature was bias-corrected (B-C) by means of variance scaling (VS) method. This procedure allows an improvement of fit between observed and estimated air temperature for all climate models. The simulation of water temperature for the period 1990–2100 shows an increasing trend, which is higher for the period of June-August (summer) and September-November (autumn) (0.0275 and 0.0281 °C/year) than that of winter (December-February) and spring (March-May) (0.0181 and 0.0218 °C/year). In the high air temperature range, daily water temperature is projected to increase on average by 2.2–3.1 °C for 2061–2090 relative to 1961–1990. During the coldest days, the increment of water temperature would range between 1.0 and 1.7 °C. In fact, employing the numbers of days that water temperature exceeded the upper incipient lethal temperature (UILT) for brown trout (24.7 °C) has been noted that this threshold is exceeded 14.5 days per year in 2061–2090 while in 1961–1990, this values was exceeded 2.6 days per year of mean and 3.6 days per year in observation period (2000–2014).

Challenges in relating concentrations of aromas and tastes with flavor features of foods

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2015.1048775

Flavor sensations in food are highly influenced by the aroma and taste compounds. Reviewing the extensive literature of recent years in this field has shown that the reconstitution of flavor based on aroma and taste compounds poses numerous problems. These are of different nature and include among others (a) chemical transformations among these compounds, (b) changes in the concentrations of the compounds responsible for the perceived flavor, (c) interactions among the chemical compounds that enhance or reduce a specific flavor sensation, and finally, (d) the complexity of the different food matrices and its influence in the flavor perception. Another difficulty that flavor scientists must face is how to properly model and visualize the complex relationships existing between the chemical composition of foods and the flavor perception. These problems have repercussions on the reconstitution of the flavor signature of food based on the natural concentrations of its key aroma and taste compounds. Therefore, the main aim of this review is to deal with all these issues to propose potential solutions for a robust transformation in a science-based quality approach.