Coumarins from Seseli devenyense Simonk.: Isolation by Liquid–Liquid Chromatography and Potential Anxiolytic Activity Using an In Vivo Zebrafish Larvae Model

Different types of anxiety disorders have become the number one mental health issue in developed countries. The search for new, safer and effective drug-like molecules among naturally derived substances faces two difficulties: an efficient method of isolation compounds with a high-purity and high-throughput animal model for activity assay. Thus, the aim of the present study was to isolate by liquid–liquid chromatography high-purity rare coumarins from the fruits of Seseli devenyense Simonk. and evaluate their anxiolytic effect (defined as reversed thimotaxis) using a 5-days post-fertilization (dpf) Danio rerio larvae model. Liquid–liquid chromatography enabled the isolation of one simple hydroxycoumarin (devenyol) and four pyranocoumarins (cis-khellactone, d-laserpitin, isolaserpitin and octanoyllomatin). The anxiolytic effect was defined as a decrease in the time spent in the boundaries of the living space (also described as reversed thigmotaxis). Our results show that all isolated courmarins exerted a significant influence on the anxiety behavior (anxiolytic activity) in the zebrafish larvae model. According to our knowledge, this is the first report of anxiolytic activity of pyranocoumarins and devenyol.     

Creep behaviour of geosynthetics

Empirical results dealing with rheological properties of some geosynthetics are presented. Creep tests performed on some Polish-made geotextiles are described and discussed within the framework of the standard linear solid (SLS) model. It is shown that the SLS model described by three parameters can serve as a useful low resolution approximation for a range of geosynthetics, for low stress levels which exclude secondary and tertiary creep. The parameters of the SLS model were determined by curve fitting for three types of Polish geotextiles as well as for some other geosynthetics. The problems of creep under increasing load and creep after partial unloading are discussed. Two modified rheological models of geotextiles, which take into account the plastic strains, are proposed.     

Development of Synthetic Platelet‐Activating Hydrogel Matrices to Induce Local Hemostasis

Several hemostatic strategies rely on the use of blood components such as fibrinogen and thrombin, which suffer from high cost and short shelf‐life. Here, a cost‐effective synthetic biomaterial is developed for rapid local hemostasis. Instead of using thrombin, thrombin‐receptor‐agonist‐peptide‐6 (TRAP6) is covalently engineered in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels. Soluble PVA‐TRAP6 is first prepared by covalent attachment of cysteine‐containing TRAP6 onto the backbone of PVA‐norbornenes (PVA‐NB) through photoconjugation. Cytotoxicity studies using C2C12 myoblasts indicate that PVA‐NB and PVA‐TRAP6 are nontoxic. Thromboelastography reveals that hemostatic activity of TRAP6 is retained in conjugated form, which is comparable to free TRAP6 solutions with equal concentrations. A 0.1% PVA‐TRAP6 solution can shorten the clotting time (CT) to ca. 45% of the physiological CT. High platelet‐activating efficiency is further confirmed by platelet aggregation assay and flow cytometry (FACS). For potential clinical applications, TRAP6‐presenting hydrogel particulates (PVA‐TRAP6‐P) are developed for local platelet activation and hemostasis. PVA‐TRAP6‐P is prepared by biofunctionalization of photopolymerized PVA‐NB hydrogel particulates (PVA‐NB‐P) with TRAP6. It is demonstrated that PVA‐TRAP6‐P can effectively shorten the CT to ca. 50%. FACS shows that PVA‐TRAP6‐P can activate platelets to a comparable extent as soluble TRAP6 control. Altogether, PVA‐TRAP6‐P represents a promising class of biomaterials for safe hemostasis and wound healing.     

SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION FOR PRECONCENTRATION AND SEPARATION OF SELENIUM SPECIES

ABSTRACT

There is sufficient evidence today that selenium is both an essential and toxic element for animal and man. This review article intends to show the involvement of selenium in the environment and in biology. Attention is paid to its occurrence, distribution, sampling and storage and also recent developments for selenium determination reported in analytical literature. Special emphasis is placed on the application of solid sorbents for preconcentration and separation of inorganic and organic selenium species. Published data for these procedures are critically discussed.     

Application Tests of New Wetting Compositions for Wildland Firefighting

Extinguishing forest fires is a critical issue for fire brigades; fire can spread throughout vast areas in a relatively short period of time. The studies presented in this paper describe the results of laboratory and field tests of new compositions of wetting agents for extinguishing wildland fires. The studies assessed the ability to penetrate surface fuels using 0.5 and 1% solution of wetting compositions. The penetration of the liquid through the layer of the loose rotting wood with solutions of obtained wetting agents was up to 68 times faster than with water. The absorption of water droplet was even 40 times slower in comparison to wetting agent solutions. Based on laboratory research, compositions that exhibit the best wetting properties were analysed in real conditions in field tests to assess their capacity to penetrate in surface fuels, their ability to make fire barriers and their efficiency in suppressing fires of soil cover and thickets. In tests performed in 4 m² plots, the wetting compositions hold the flames from crossing a thin firebreak for up to three times longer periods than water. The results of the studies confirmed a significant increase in efficiency when new biodegradable wetting agents are employed to extinguish forest fires.     

An overview of current processes for the thermochemical treatment of automobile shredder residue

The automobile is a metal-dominated complex product, comprising many different materials, and is therefore a good study case for the modeling of recycling streams based on the classical minerals processing approach. In Europe and in many industrial sectors of the world, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are collected and partly dismantled. The remaining wreck is shredded. During shredding, the wreck is broken into smaller particles, and so the materials it contains are liberated to some extent. After shredding, the particles are fed to a series of automatic physical separation processes. This results in several recovered material streams: ferrous materials, aluminium, copper, zinc, stainless steel and automotive shredder residue (ASR, which consists of mainly nonmetallic materials). Each stream suffers from some degree of contamination by foreign materials due to imperfect separation processes. It should be noted that thermochemical treatment (pyrolysis, gasification, etc.) of complex organic materials is one of the most promising methods of reducing the impact of solid, municipal and industrial wastes from environmental, storage and landfill perspectives, and it can also be used to produce energy. This review compares thermochemical processes for automobile shredder residues (ASR).