Prediction of fatty acids composition in the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss by using Raman micro-spectroscopy.

The importance of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in food is crucial for the animal and human development and health. As a complementary strategy to nutrition approaches, genetic selection has been suggested to improve fatty acids (FAs) composition in farmed fish. Gas chromatography (GC) is used as a reference method for the quantification of FAs; nevertheless, the high cost prevents large scale phenotyping as needed in breeding programs. Therefore, a calibration by means of Raman scattering spectrometry has been established in order to predict FA composition of visceral adipose tissue in rainbow trout Onchorhynchus mykiss. FA composition was analyzed by both GC and Raman micro-spectrometry techniques on 268 individuals fed with three different feeds, which have different FA compositions. Among the possible regression methods, the ridge regression method, was found to be efficient to establish calibration models from the GC and spectral data. The best cross-validated R2 values were obtained for total PUFAs, omega-6 (Ω-6) and omega-3 (Ω-3) PUFA (0.79, 0.83 and 0.66, respectively). For individual Ω-3 PUFAs, α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5) and docosahexenoic acid (DHA, C22:6) were found to have the best R2 values (0.82, 0.76 and 0.81, respectively). This study demonstrates that Raman spectroscopy could be used to predict PUFAs with good correlation coefficients on adipocytes, for future on adipocytes physiology or for large scale and high throughput phenotyping in rainbow trout.

Solvation effects on self-association and segregation processes in tert-butanol-aprotic solvent binary mixtures.

The present study reveals that the fully miscible binary mixtures consisting of tert-butanol with aprotic solvents form well-defined ordered supermolecular structures, which have been characterized on different length scales. Three different types of microstructures have been determined. They are separated by distinct crossovers that appear as a function of the dilution rate, going from "correlated clusters" to "diluted clusters" and "diluted monomer" microstructures. These observations have been made possible by the combination of Raman vibration spectroscopy, (1)H NMR, and neutron diffraction that probe, respectively, the cluster formation (self-association) and the intercluster correlations (cluster segregation). The solvation effects on both the cluster formation and the intercluster correlations have been assessed by tuning the alcohol-solvent interaction, i.e., changing the chemical nature of the diluting solvent from a purely inert alkane to a weakly interacting aromatic system.

Photo-stability of pulsed laser deposited Ge(x)As(y)Se(100-x-y) amorphous thin films.

Quest for photo-stable amorphous thin films in ternary Ge(x)As(y)Se(100-x-y) chalcogenide system is reported. Studied layers were fabricated using pulsed laser deposition technique. Scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray analyzer, Raman scattering spectroscopy, transmittance measurements, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, and non-linear imaging technique with phase object inside the 4f imaging system were employed to characterize prepared thin films. Their photo-stability/photo-induced phenomena in as-deposited and relaxed states were also investigated, respectively. In linear regime, we found intrinsically photo-stable relaxed layers within Ge(20)As(20)Se(60) composition. This composition presents also the highest optical damage threshold under non-linear optical conditions.

Poisson's ratio and the densification of glass under high pressure.

Because of a relatively low atomic packing density, (Cg) glasses experience significant densification under high hydrostatic pressure. Poisson's ratio (nu) is correlated to Cg and typically varies from 0.15 for glasses with low Cg such as amorphous silica to 0.38 for close-packed atomic networks such as in bulk metallic glasses. Pressure experiments were conducted up to 25 GPa at 293 K on silica, soda-lime-silica, chalcogenide, and bulk metallic glasses. We show from these high-pressure data that there is a direct correlation between nu and the maximum post-decompression density change.

Molecular dynamics of a short-range ordered smectic phase nanoconfined in porous silicon.

4-n-octyl-4-cyanobiphenyl has been recently shown to display an unusual sequence of phases when confined into porous silicon (PSi). The gradual increase of oriented short-range smectic (SRS) correlations in place of a phase transition has been interpreted as a consequence of the anisotropic quenched disorder induced by confinement in PSi. Combining two quasielastic neutron scattering experiments with complementary energy resolutions, the authors present the first investigation of the individual molecular dynamics of this system. A large reduction of the molecular dynamics is observed in the confined liquid phase, as a direct consequence of the boundary conditions imposed by the confinement. Temperature fixed window scans reveal a continuous glasslike reduction of the molecular dynamics of the confined liquid and SRS phases on cooling down to 250 K, where a solidlike behavior is finally reached by a two-step crystallization process.

Structural organization of pi conjugated highly luminescent molecular material.

We report on striking evidence for a room temperature structural phase instability in p-hexaphenyl, inducing a nonplanar conformation of the molecules. Solid state proton NMR and single crystal x-ray diffraction allow the analysis of the organization, the individual dynamics and the involved symmetry breaking. The analysis of Raman spectra above and below room temperature reveals a singular behavior suggesting a modification of the overlap between the electronic wave function induced by the nonplanarity. These results provide a new basis to answer fundamental issues related to molecular and electronic materials and, in particular, luminescent organic devices.