Formulative Study and Intracellular Fate Evaluation of Ethosomes and Transethosomes for Vitamin D3 Delivery

In this pilot study, ethosomes and transethosomes were investigated as potential delivery systems for cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), whose deficiency has been correlated to many disorders such as dermatological diseases, systemic infections, cancer and sarcopenia. A formulative study on the influence of pharmaceutically acceptable ionic and non-ionic surfactants allowed the preparation of different transethosomes. In vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated in different cell types representative of epithelial, connective and muscle tissue. Then, the selected nanocarriers were further investigated at light and transmission electron microscopy to evaluate their uptake and intracellular fate. Both ethosomes and transethosomes proven to have physicochemical properties optimal for transdermal penetration and efficient vitamin D3 loading; moreover, nanocarriers were easily internalized by all cell types, although they followed distinct intracellular fates: ethosomes persisted for long times inside the cytoplasm, without inducing subcellular alteration, while transethosomes underwent rapid degradation giving rise to an intracellular accumulation of lipids. These basic results provide a solid scientific background to in vivo investigations aimed at exploring the efficacy of vitamin D3 transdermal administration in different experimental and pathological conditions.     

Comparison of photobioreactors and optimal light regime for rapid vegetative propagation of transgenic Undaria pinnatifida gametophytes

BACKGROUND: Previously, tachyplesin gene (tac) has been successfully transferred into Undaria pinnatifida gametophytes using the method of microprojectile bombardment transformation. The objectives of this study were to compare and evaluate the performance of bubble‐column and airlift bioreactors to determine a preferred configuration of bioreactor for vegetative propagation of transgenic U. pinnatifida gametophytes, and to then investigate the influence of light on vegetative propagation of these gametophytes, including incident light intensity, photoperiod and light quality to resolve the problems of rapid vegetative propagation within the selected bioreactor. RESULTS: Experimental results showed that final dry cell density in the airlift bioreactor was 12.7% higher than that in the bubble‐column bioreactor under the optimal aeration rate of 1.2 L air min^?1 L^?1 culture. And a maximum final dry cell density of 2830 mg L^?1 was obtained within the airlift bioreactor using blue light at 40 µmol m^?2 s^?1 with a light/dark cycle of 14/10 (h). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis indicated that genes (bar and tac) were not lost during rapid vegetative propagation within the airlift bioreactor. CONCLUSION: The airlift bioreactor was shown to be much more suitable for rapid vegetative propagation of transgenic U. pinnatifida gametophytes than the bubble‐column bioreactor in the laboratory. The use of blue light allows improvement of vegetative propagation of transgenic U. pinnatifida gametophytes. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Performance analysis under dynamic loading of wavelength continuous and non‐continuous WDM networks with shortest‐path routing

The performance of WDM networks using shortest path routing is studied under wavelength continuous (WC) and non‐continuous (NWC) constraints and dynamic traffic loading. Approximate analytical models are presented for the performance studies of such systems. Results of numerical calculations based on these models and simulations are given for different network topologies for the purposes of comparison. These analytical and simulation results are used to study the performance of these WDM networks under dynamic traffic loading. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

粉尘消光系数的确定方法

通过对不同粉尘类型、不同粒度分布的粉尘光吸收实验研究，证明粉尘密度、粉尘中位径与粉尘消系数成反比例反比关系，并提出了粉尘消光系数的计算公式。     

兰光转换膜的研制及其水稻育秧效果试验

本文介绍了以LDPE与LLDPE为基料的农用兰光转换水稻育秧膜的研制与性能，以及该膜用于水稻育秧的应用效果试验。最终增产效果为5．5％。     

单层有机半导体微腔效应的研究

制作了ＤＢＲ／ＩＴＯ／ＰＰＶ／Ａ１微腔结构，研究了这种结构ＰＰＶ发光器件的光致发光和电致发光特性。实验结果表明，由简单地调节夹于两金属电极镜面之间的ＰＰＶ层厚度可实现微腔效应。     

Fenton试剂和紫外光-Fenton试剂联合作用处理硝基苯废水

通过正交设计试验，研究了Ｆｅｎｔｏｎ试剂和紫外光（ＵＶ）－Ｆｅｎｔｏｎ试剂联合处理硝基苯废水的最佳工艺条件，并对它们的处理效果进行了比较，发现使用ＵＶ－Ｆｅｎｔｏｎ试剂处理难于降解的硝基苯废水的效果优于单独使用Ｆｅｎｔｏｎ试剂，紫外光与亚铁离子对过氧化氢的分解具有协同作用。     

Dual wavelength OLEDs with blue and yellow emission peaks

New organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with dual peak emission spectra were fabricated and their electrical and optical characteristics were investigated. In the experiments, the blue emission materials GDI602 and GDI602 were doped with GDI691(2%)[GDI602∶GDI691(2%)] and the yellow emission material Alq3 was doped with Rubrene(10%)[Alq3∶Rubrene(10%)]. Under an applied voltage of 10 V, the OLED with the GDI602/Alq3∶Rubrene(10%) emission layer had a luminance of 325 Cd/m² and a power efficiency of 0.7 lm/W, whereas the OLED with the GDI602∶GDI691(2%)/Alq3∶Rubrene(10%) emission layer had a luminance of 500 Cd/m² and a power efficiency of 0.94 lm/W. The dual peak wavelengths of the OLEDs were fixed but the relative intensities of the peak wavelengths varied according to the applied voltage. The OLED with the GDI602/Alq3∶Rubrene(10%) emission layer showed a somewhat reddish-white emission with a Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage(CIE) coordinate of (0.33, 0.32) at 9 V. In contrast, the OLED with the GDI602: GDI691(2%)/Alq3∶Rubrene(10%) emission layer showed an almost pure white emission with a CIE coordinate of (0.32, 0.33) at 6 V; furthermore, the color changed to blue as the applied voltage was increased.     

Effect of an organoclay on the reaction‐induced phase‐separation kinetics and morphology of a poly(ether imide)/epoxy mixture

Organically modified layered silicates with a hydroxyl‐substituted quaternary ammonium surfactant as the modifier were incorporated into a mixture of poly (ether imide) and epoxy with 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl sulfone as the hardener. The influence of the organically modified layered silicates on the reaction‐induced phase‐separation kinetics and morphology of the poly(ether imide)/epoxy mixture was investigated with time‐resolved small‐angle light scattering, phase‐contrast microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The phase‐separation kinetics were analyzed by means of the temporal evolution of scattering vector q _m and scattering intensity I_m at the scattering peak. The organically modified layered silicates obviously facilitated an earlier onset of phase separation but reduce the phase‐separation rate and greatly retarded the domain‐coarsening process in the late stage of spinodal decomposition. The temporal evolution of both q _m and I_m followed the power law q _m ～ (t ? t_os)^?α and I_m ～(t ? t_os)^?β, where t is the reaction time, t_os is the onset time of phase separation, and α and β are growth exponents. For the samples filled with organically modified layered silicates, α crossed over from 0 to about 1/3, following Binder–Stauffer cluster dynamics, and an interconnected phase structure was observed for cure temperatures ranging from 120 to 230°C. For the unfilled samples, the interconnected phase structure was observed only at cure temperatures below 140°C. At temperatures above 150°C, α crossed over from 0 to 1/3 < α ≤ 1 under the interfacial tension effect, following Siggia's theory, and the domain‐coarsening rate was very fast; this resulted in macroscopic epoxy‐rich domains. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 1205–1214, 2007     

Conditioned Alarm Behavior in Fathead Minnows (Pimephales promelas) Resulting from Association of Chemical Alarm Pheromone with a Nonbiological Visual Stimulus

Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) adopt antipredator (alarm) behavior when they detect alarm pheromone released from an injured conspecific. This is an adaptive response since alarm pheromone is generally released only in the context of a predation event. Alarm reactions may also occur in response to chemical and visual stimuli that minnows learn to associate with release of alarm pheromone. Here, we tested if fathead minnows can learn to associate a nonbiological, visual stimulus with predation risk. Minnows were simultaneously exposed to red light and conspecific alarm pheromone, inducing an alarm reaction. When retested using red light alone, small shoals of minnows displayed an antipredator response: dashing movements and disorganized swimming followed by decreased height in the water column and increased shoal cohesion. This resulted from a single-trial exposure to the combined cues and demonstrates a robust ecological mechanism by which minnows learn to recognize indicators of predation risk that may vary in space and time. However, learning to associate risk with biologically irrelevant stimuli may be an ecological liability. How minnows discern between relevant and irrelevant stimuli in nature is not known.