Use of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) for Monitoring Experimental Helicobacter pylori Infection and Related Inflammatory Response in Guinea Pig Model

Infections due to Gram-negative bacteria Helicobacter pylori may result in humans having gastritis, gastric or duodenal ulcer, and even gastric cancer. Investigation of quantitative changes of soluble biomarkers, correlating with H. pylori infection, is a promising tool for monitoring the course of infection and inflammatory response. The aim of this study was to determine, using an experimental model of H. pylori infection in guinea pigs, the specific characteristics of infrared spectra (IR) of sera from H. pylori infected (40) vs. uninfected (20) guinea pigs. The H. pylori status was confirmed by histological, molecular, and serological examination. The IR spectra were measured using a Fourier-transform (FT)-IR spectrometer Spectrum 400 (PerkinElmer) within the range of wavenumbers 3000–750 cm⁻¹ and converted to first derivative spectra. Ten wavenumbers correlated with H. pylori infection, based on the chi-square test, were selected for a K-nearest neighbors (k-NN) algorithm. The wavenumbers correlating with infection were identified in the W2 and W3 windows associated mainly with proteins and in the W4 window related to nucleic acids and hydrocarbons. The k-NN for detection of H. pylori infection has been developed based on chemometric data. Using this model, animals were classified as infected with H. pylori with 100% specificity and 97% sensitivity. To summarize, the IR spectroscopy and k-NN algorithm are useful for monitoring experimental H. pylori infection and related inflammatory response in guinea pig model and may be considered for application in humans.     

Surface protection of mild steel in acidic chloride solution by 5-Nitro-8-Hydroxy Quinoline

The effect of commercially available quinoline nucleus based pharmaceutically active compound 5-Nitro-8-Hydroxy Quinoline (NHQ) against the corrosion of mild steel (MS) in 1 M acidic chloride (HCl) solution was investigated by chemical (weight loss – WL) and electrochemical (Tafel polarization, Linear polarization and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) techniques. From all the four methods, it is inferred that the percentage of inhibition efficiency increases with increasing the inhibitor concentration from 50 to 300 ppm. The adsorption behavior of inhibitor obeyed through Langmuir isotherm model. Thermodynamic parameters were also calculated and predict that the process of inhibition is a spontaneous reaction. EIS technique exhibits one capacitive loop indicating that, the corrosion reaction is controlled by charge transfer process. Tafel polarization studies revealed that the investigated inhibitor is mixed type and the mode of adsorption is physical in nature. The surface morphologies were examined by FT-IR, SEM and EDX techniques. Theoretical quantum chemical calculations were performed to confirm the ability of NHQ to adsorb onto mild steel surface.     

Designing Cellulose Acetate - Polyacrylamide Semi-Interpenetrating Polymer Networks and Evaluation of their Protein Retention Behavior

In this work semi-IPNs of cellulose acetate (CA) – N, N’- methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) – crosslinked polyacrylamide (PAM), and native CA gel were prepared and characterized by FTIR, AFM, SEM, XRD, TGA and DSC techniques. The AFM studies revealed that addition of AM increased the symmetry of the semi-IPN surfaces whereas the XRD spectra suggested for a decrease in crystalline nature of CA. The network parameters were changed with change in concentrations of CA and AM. The prepared semi-IPNs were examined for retention of bovine serum albumin (BSA). The mechanical properties, swelling capacity, % porosity and biocompatibility were also investigated.     

水热法主要提取因素对光皮木瓜多糖结构的影响

目的 优化水热法提取光皮木瓜（Chaenomeles sinensis）多糖的提取工艺条件，对光皮木瓜不溶性多糖的组成和结构进行分析。方法 预处理后的光皮木瓜样品经水热法提取、抽滤、冲洗，浓缩等操作，分别得到不溶性多糖、醇沉多糖和醇溶多糖，通过傅里叶变换红外光谱、扫描电子显微镜及X射线衍射分析不溶性多糖的组成和结构。 结果 多糖提取的较优条件为150 ℃/45 min，料液比1∶10 (W/V)；温度对水热法提取效果影响显著，适当升高温度、延长提取时间和减少料液比有利于多糖提取；高温虽能促进半纤维素溶解，但无法使木质素和木聚糖降解；即使提取温度不同，光皮木不溶性多糖的结构差异也极小；水热法提取光皮木瓜多糖不会导致多糖的功能性基团变化，只改变多糖的化学组成。结论 该研究可为光皮木瓜多糖的结构与功能研究提供实验依据，也为陕西白河光皮木瓜资源的综合利用提供研究参考。     

Fundamental analysis of recombinant human epidermal growth factor in solution with biophysical methods

Correlation of thermodynamic and secondary structural stability of proteins at various buffer pHs was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR). Recombinant human epithelial growth factor (rhEGF) was selected as a model protein at various pHs and in different buffers, including phosphate, histidine, citrate, HEPES and Tris. Particle size and zeta potential of rhEGF at each selected pH of buffer were observed by DLS. Four factors were used to characterize the biophysical stability of rhEGF in solution: temperature at maximum heat flux (T_m), intermolecular β-sheet contents, zeta size and zeta potential. It was possible to predict the apparent isoelectric point (pI) of rhEGF as 4.43 by plotting pH against zeta potential. When the pH of the rhEGF solution increased or decreased from pI, the absolute zeta potential increased indicating a reduced possibility of protein aggregation, since T_m increased and β-sheet contents decreased. The contents of induced intermolecular β-sheet in Tris and HEPES buffers were the lowest. Thermodynamic stability of rhEGF markedly increased when pH is higher than 6.2 in histidine buffer where T_m of first transition was all above 70?°C. Moreover, rhEGF in Tris buffer was more thermodynamically stable than in HEPES with higher zeta potential. Tris buffer at pH 7.2 was concluded to be the most favorable.     

Structural,thermal, spectral,optical and surface analysis of rare earth metal ion (Gd3+) doped mixed Zn–Mg nano-spinel ferrites

The present work reports the structural, thermal, spectral, optical and surface analysis of rare earth metal ion (Gd³⁺) doped mixed Zn–Mg nano-spinel ferrites. The samples of Gd³⁺ doped Zn–Mg nano ferrites with equi-amount chemical composition i.e. Zn_0.5Mg_0.5Fe_2-xGd_xO₄ (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.10 in step of 0.02) were prepared by self-ignited sol-gel route. The variance in the thermal behaviour and spinel phase development with weight loss percentage in the prepared samples was investigated by TG-DTA technique. The powder X-ray diffraction (P-XRD) patterns ensured the nanocrystalline mono-phasic formation and spinel-cubic structure of all the samples. The trend of increment in lattice constant (a) and decrement in crystallite (t) size was observed with the doping of Gd³⁺ ions. The appearance of two requisite vibrational stretching modes was affirmed by the FT-IR spectral studies. The UV–Vis optical analysis displayed the augmentation in absorbance and drastic decrement in energy band gap value (1.96 eV–1.83 eV) with Gd³⁺ doping. The photo-luminescent (PL) studies revealed the broad near band-edge emission in visible wavelength range (523 nm–528 nm) for all the samples. The surface parameters investigation was undertaken with the help of BET isotherms recorded by the N₂-physisorption and BJH model. The various surface parameters such as BET surface area, volume and radius of the pores, distribution of the pore sizes etc were construed from the BET data. The enhancement in these surface parameters via Gd³⁺ doping was noted for all the samples. The outcomes of the present work reflects the influential doping of Gd³⁺ ions in Zn–Mg nano ferrites, which can be implementable for bio-applications as thermal seeds in magnetic hyperthermia or as contrast enhancer in medical MRI imaging.     

Influence of modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the mechanical behavior and toughening mechanism of an environmentally friendly granulated blast furnace slag-based geopolymer matrix

This study aimed to investigate the mechanical behavior of an environmentally friendly granulated blast furnace slag-based geopolymer matrix reinforced with modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The modified MWCNTs were obtained using a modification method combining nitric acid and sulfuric acid and were then dispersed using sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) as a dispersant. Two types and three concentrations of MWCNTs were mixed directly into the aqueous solution, sonicated, and then mechanically mixed with waste granulated blast furnace slag to form the geopolymer matrix. Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were used to evaluate the ordered structure and crystallization degree of the modified MWCNTs. Then, the dispersity of the modified MWCNTs was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The compressive and bending strengths were measured to evaluate the mechanical behavior of specimens. Moreover, the polycondensation products, polycondensation degree, pore structure, and microscopic morphology of the geopolymer matrix were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS). The experimental results showed that the incorporation of 0.1% functionalized MWCNTs had an optimal influence on the fluidity and mechanical behavior. The slump diameters of geopolymers with 0.1% functionalized MWCNTs with and without SDS were increased by 16.3% and 23.5%, respectively, compared with the reference geopolymer matrix. For geopolymer matrix samples at a curing age of 28 d, the compressive strength of geopolymers with 0.1% functionalized MWCNTs with and without SDS were increased by 16.3% and 17.6%, respectively. For the bending strength, the corresponding increases were 17.6% and 18.7%, respectively. It was found that functionalized MWCNTs could increase the degree of polycondensation, leading to a more traditional amorphous N-A-S-H phase, a finer C–S–H phase, more Q⁴ (2Al) and Q⁴ (3Al), and lower porosity. In addition, the propagation of micro-cracks in the geopolymers was inhibited by the incorporation of functionalized MWCNTs.     

Design of data feature-driven 1D/2D convolutional neural networks classifier for recycling black plastic wastes through laser spectroscopy

In this study, two types of convolutional neural network (CNN) classifiers are designed to handle the problem of classifying black plastic wastes. In particular, the black plastic wastes have the property of absorbing laser light coming from spectrometer. Therefore, the classification of black plastic wastes remains still a challenging problem compared to classifying other colored plastic wastes using existing spectroscopy (i.e., NIR). When it comes the classification problem of black plastic wastes, effective classification techniques by the laser spectroscopy of Fourier Transform-Infrared Radiation (FT-IR) with Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) and Raman to analyze the classification problem of black plastic wastes are introduced. Due to the strong ability of extracting spatial features and remarkable performance in image classification, 1D and 2D CNN through data features are designed as classifiers. The technique of chemical peak points selection is considered to reduce data redundancy. Furthermore, through the selection of data features based on the extracted 1D data with peak points is introduced. Experimental results demonstrate that 2DCNN classifier designed with the help of 2D data feature selection as well as 1DCNN classifier shows the best performance compared with other reported methods for classifying black plastic wastes.