Background: Starch phase transition characteristics were studied by pre-treating starch samples in excess water, dilute sodium chloride and dilute sucrose solutions and subjecting them to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Unmodified maize, wheat and potato starches were held at specific temperatures between 30 and 90 °C for 30 min and promptly cooled to 25 °C. Treated samples were then a...

The recent discovery [1] of a clear metal– insulator transition (MIT) in the vanadium bronze βNa0.33V2O3 has sparked a revival of interest in this quasi one-dimensional(1D) metallic system. In addition to the MIT, β-Na0.33V2O3 undergoes a structural sodium ordering transition at higher temperatures, a magnetic transition at low temperatures, and a transition into a superconducting state under h...

We present a model of the dynamical transition of atomic displacements in proteins. Increased mean-square displacement at higher temperatures is caused by the softening of the force constant for atomic/molecular displacements by electrostatic and van der Waals forces from the protein-water thermal bath. Displacement softening passes through a nonergodic dynamical transition when the relaxation ...

We discuss the possibility of generating the baryon asymmetry of the Universe when the temperature of the Universe is much below the electroweak scale. In our model the evaporation of primordial black holes or the decay of massive particles re-heats the surrounding plasma to temperatures above the electroweak transition temperature leading to restoration of electroweak symmetry locally. The sym...

We report penetration depth and resistivity measurements on the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 using a self-resonant tank circuit based on a tunnel diode oscillator. For magnetic fields applied near parallel to the ab planes and temperatures below 250 mK, two phase transitions were found. The lower field transition, within the superconducting state, is of a second order and we identify it...

The high pressure phase transitions and melting of the mantle mineral MgSiO3 with the perovskite structure were investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a large system of atoms on a parallel computer. The simulations reveal an orthorhombic to cubic transition accompanied by a sharp increase in diffusion of the O atoms. The phase transition and melting temperature depend sensiti...

The effects of glass transition of, and protein conformation in, the dried solid on the storage stability of freeze-dried recombinant human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (rhIL-1ra) were examined. Glass transition is a temperature-dependent phenomenon. Amorphous materials become hard and brittle at temperatures below their characteristic glass transition temperatures (Tg) such that diffusion...

An aromatic polyimide and its mixture with randomly distributed carbon nanotubes are simulated by using molecular dynamics, repeated energy minimization and cooling processes. The glass transition temperatures are identified through volume-temperature curves. Stress-strain curves, Young’s moduli, volumes and Poisson ratios at different temperatures are computed at different temperatures. It is ...

UPt orders ferromagnetically at ambient pressure at 28 K. Upon increasing pressure, an additional magnetic phase transition appears around 17 K. While the upper transition behaves with field as a typical paramagneticferromagnetic transition, the lower one exhibits antiferromagnetic behavior. With pressure both transitions shift towards lower temperatures. Around 1.5 GPa the upper magnetic trans...