Comparative metabolism of the antiviral dimer 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine-P-2',3'-dideoxyinosine and the monomers zidovudine and didanosine by rat, monkey, and human hepatocytes

AZT-P-ddI is an antiviral heterodimer composed of one molecule of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) and one molecule of 2',3'-dideoxyinosine (ddI) linked through their 5' positions by a phosphate bond. The metabolic fate of the dimer was studied with isolated rat, monkey, and human hepatocytes and was compared with that of its component monomers AZT and ddI. Upon incubation of double-labeled [14C]AZT-P-[3H]ddI in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes in suspension at a final concentration of 10 microM, the dimer was taken up intact by cells and then rapidly cleaved to AZT, AZT monophosphate, ddI, and ddI monophosphate. AZT and ddI so formed were then subject to their respective catabolisms. High-performance liquid chromatography analyses of the extracellular medium and cell extracts revealed the presence of unchanged dimer, AZT, 3'-azido-3'-deoxy-5'-beta-D-glucopyranosylthymidine (GAZT), 3'-amino-3'-deoxythymidine (AMT), ddI, and a previously unrecognized derivative of the dideoxyribose moiety of ddI, designated ddI-M. Trace extracellular but substantial intracellular levels of the glucuronide derivative of AMT (3'-amino-3'-deoxy-5'-beta-D-glucopyranosylthymidine [GAMT]) were also detected. Moreover, the extent of the formation of AMT, GAZT, and ddI-M from the dimer was markedly lower than that with AZT and ddI alone by the hepatocytes. With hepatocytes in primary culture obtained from rat, monkey, and human, large interspecies variations in the metabolism of AZT-P-ddI were observed. While GAZT and ddI-M, metabolites of AZT and ddI, respectively, as well as AZT 5'-monophosphate (MP) and ddI-MP were detected in the extracellular media of all species, AMT and GAMT were produced only by rat and monkey hepatocytes. No such metabolites were formed by human hepatocytes. The metabolic fate of the dimer by human hepatocytes was consistent with in vivo data recently obtained from human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients.     

Numerical and Experimental Study of the Efficient Parameters on Hydromechanical Deep Drawing of Square Parts

In hydromechanical deep drawing (HDD), a chamber of fluid replaces the matrix and the final form of part is determined based on the form of rigid punch. Allowable working zone in this process indicates the applicable range of chamber pressure versus drawing ratio to achieve a rupture-free drawing. In this article, the HDD of the square parts was studied using the finite element method (FEM) and the effect of different parameters of the process such as pre-bulging pressure, chamber pressure, and friction coefficient on the working zone was investigated. The results showed that increasing of the friction between blank and die or blank and blank-holder confines the working zone, while by increasing of the friction between blank and punch, the working zone becomes larger. A study was also carried out using experimental setup for verifying the FEM results. Finally, the numerical results were compared with experimental ones.     

Photodegradation of ciprofloxacin in water using photocatalyst of zinc oxide nanowires doped with copper and cerium oxides

Antibiotic pollution via wastewaters has led to many environmental problems. In this work, to remove ciprofloxacin which is an antibiotic from water, foil photocatalyst of zinc oxide nanowires doped with copper and cerium oxides was applied under UV light irradiation. An empirical model was developed to determine the photocatalyst activity using response surface methodology. The independent variables were the concentrations of precursors, copper and cerium nitrates in the coating solution. The F‐value and p‐value of the model showed the accuracy of the model. The statistical analysis indicated that copper oxide had larger effect on the response than cerium oxide. The optimized catalyst was determined and characterized using ICP, XRD, SEM and MIP techniques. The results of this work which are comparable to those of the previous studies have the advantage of easy separation of the photocatalyst from water without using a centrifuge.     

Simple Pathway to Predict the Power of High Energy Materials

A new method has been introduced to predict the power of important classes of energetic compounds including nitroaromatics, acyclic and cyclic nitramines, nitrate esters and nitroaliphatics. In this method, the predicted specific impulse and the corrected heat of detonation on the basis of H₂O‐CO₂ arbitrary decomposition, have been used to calculate the power of an explosive with the molecular formula C_aH_bN_cO_d as determined by the Trauzl test. The predicted results show good agreement with respect to the measured values for both pure and mixture of explosives. The calculated volume expansions of pure energetic compounds have a root mean square (rms) deviation of 33 cm³ from 73 measured values (corresponding to 58 molecules). For 9 explosive mixtures, the predicted volume expansions have an rms deviation of 39 cm³ from the experimental results.     

Sample preparation optimization for the simultaneous determination of mycotoxins in cereals

The efficiency of three extraction solvents and three clean-up procedures was compared for simultaneous extraction and purification of aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2), ochratoxin A (OTA), and zearalenone (ZEA) from spiked cereal samples. The best recovery rates for all mycotoxins were achieved using methanol: water (80:20) as the extraction solvent and AOZ multi-functional immunoaffinity column (IAC), as clean up method with recovery values of 61–89%, while that of Oasis HLB and MycoSep 226 were 37–67% and 44–78%, respectively. Then, five variables in the IAC clean-up conditions, including primary conditioning with phosphate buffer saline (PBS) (0–10 mL) (X1), extract load up volume (10–20 mL) (X2), washing volume with PBS (10–20 mL) (X3), and eluting solution volumes with methanol (1–3 mL) (X4) and acetic acid (0–1.5 mL) (X5), were optimized for the specific purification and enrichment of the mycotoxins. Results showed that primary conditioning and PBS washing did not have a significant effect on the recovery responses of mycotoxins. Optimized conditions were selected as 0, 15, 10, 1.3, and 1.5 mL for X1–X5, respectively. The recovery rates of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, OTA and ZEA were within 93–104% in spiked rice, under optimal conditions. LOD and LOQ were 0.0125 and 0.05 ng/g for AFB1 and AFG1, 0.0037 and 0.015 ng/g for AFB2 and AFG2, 0.05 and 0.2 ng/g for OTA, and 0.5 and 2 ng/g for ZEA, respectively. Extraction of spiked cereal samples with methanol: water (80:20) and clean up using AOZ IAC column in optimal condition provided recovery range of 77–104% for all targeted mycotoxins.     

Photodegradation of copolyester films: A mechanistic study

The photodegradation of copolyesters based on 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol, and terephthalic acid units was investigated using various analytical methods. Photodegradation products were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), and X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The homolytic scission of C-O bonds of ester groups through a Norrish Type I reaction was supported by time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and LC–MS results, while nuclear magnetic resonance analysis confirmed hydrogen abstraction from the tertiary carbon of CHDM units in the trans (equatorial-equatorial) conformation. Chain scission through Norrish Type II reaction is also responsible for the formation of carboxylic acid end group. Fluorescence emission from irradiated glycol modified poly(ethylene terephthalate) films demonstrated the formation of mono- and dihydroxyterephthalate species. Furthermore, FTIR and XPS valence band analysis confirmed configurational changes, in the polymer chain due to photodegradation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47148.     

Discrete least squares meshless method with sampling points for the solution of elliptic partial differential equations

A meshfree method namely, discrete least squares meshless (DLSM) method, is presented in this paper for the solution of elliptic partial differential equations. In this method, computational domain is discretized by some nodes and the set of simultaneous algebraic equations are built by minimizing a least squares functional with respect to the nodal parameters. The least squares functional is defined as the sum of squared residuals of the differential equation and its boundary condition calculated at a set of points called sampling points, generally different from nodal points. A moving least squares (MLS) technique is used to construct the shape functions. The proposed method automatically leads to symmetric and positive-definite system of equations. The proposed method does not need any background mesh and, therefore, it is a truly meshless method. The solutions of several one- and two-dimensional examples of elliptic partial differential equations are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed method. Sensitivity analysis on the parameters of the method is also carried out and the results are presented.     

Assessment of boiler tubes overheating mechanisms during a postulated loss of feedwater accident

Due to their simplicity and passive nature, natural circulation loops have many industrial applications and being increasingly used in many innovative designs as the new generation of nuclear reactor cooling systems. Consequently, special attention is increasingly considered towards their safety issues. In the current framework, a safety aspect related to the loss of feedwater in an industrial D-type steam boiler is assessed. Indeed, loss of feedwater event occurs frequently during steam generator facilities lifetime. Under such conditions, the system integrity is in jeopardy and serious hazards and economic losses could occur. Up to now, specific numerical models have been used to simulate the thermal-hydraulic phenomena occurring under such circumstances. Such models are generally based upon simplified assumptions, and if complex model are performed, their applications are generally restricted to the facility they have been developed for. In the current framework, an attempt is made to apply a multipurpose best estimate (BE) thermal-hydraulic system code, namely, RELAP5/Mod3.2 to simulate steady-state and transient dynamic behaviors of a two-phase natural circulation steam boiler. For this purpose, two loss of feedwater scenarios, with and without the actuation of the boiler control system, have been performed. The analysis results show on one hand the achievement in applying RELAP5 for a conventional boiler system, and on the other hand the efficiency of the control systems to mitigate the accident consequences.