Is hepcidin‐25 a predictor of atherosclerosis in hemodialysis patients?

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in hemodialysis patients. Iron accumulation in arterial wall macrophages is increased in atherosclerotic lesions. Hepcidin is a key hepatic hormone regulating iron balance. It inhibits iron release from macrophages and iron absorption from enterocytes by binding and inactivating the cellular iron exporter ferroportin. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation of hepcidin‐25, iron parameters, and atherosclerosis measured by carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in hemodialysis patients. Eighty‐two hemodialysis patients were enrolled in this cross‐sectional study. Predialysis blood samples were centrifuged at 1500 g and 4°C for 10 minutes and stored at ?80°C for the measurement of hepcidin‐25. DRG hepcidin enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay kit was used for the measurement of hepcidin‐25. Ultrasonographical B‐mode imaging of bilateral carotid arteries was performed with a high‐resolution real‐time ultrasonography (Mindray DC7). Mean age of the study population was 57.90 ± 16.08 years and 43.9% were men. Total study population was grouped into two according to median value of hepcidin‐25. There was no difference between groups with respect to age, dialysis vintage, and C‐reactive protein. CIMT was found to be statistically significantly higher in low hepcidin‐25 group. In correlation analysis, CIMT was found to be correlated with age (P < 0.01, R = 0.33) and hepcidin‐25 (P < 0.01, R = 0.46). In linear regression analysis, age (β = 0.31) and hepcidin‐25 (β = 0.44) were found to be the determinants of CIMT in hemodialysis patients. Our results implicate that hepcidin may take part in pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients.     

Adsorption of lead and cadmium ions in aqueous solutions onto modified lignin from alkali glycerol delignication

Adsorptions of toxic metal ions (Pb(II) and Cd(II)) onto modified lignin from beech and poplar woods by alkali glycerol delignification are presented in this paper. The material exhibits good adsorption capacity and the adsorption data follow the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacities are 8.2-9.0 and 6.7-7.5 mg/g of the modified lignin for Pb(II) and Cd(II), respectively. The maximum adsorption percentage is 95.8 for Pb(II) for 4 h at 330 K and is 95.0 for Cd(II) for 10 h at 290 K. The adsorption of both the metal ions increased with increasing temperature indicating endothermic nature of the adsorption process. The maximum adsorption percentages of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions decrease with time till 48 and 42 h and then again increase slightly with time. The adsorption of both heavy metal ions increases with pH. The adsorption of Pb(II) ions reached a maximum at a 5.0 value of pH.     

The decolorization of C.I. Reactive Black 5 in aqueous solution by electrocoagulation using sacrificial iron electrodes

The removal of color from synthetic wastewater containing Reactive Black 5 was experimentally investigated using direct current electrocoagulation at iron electrodes. The effects of operational parameters such as current density, initial pH, electrolysis time, initial dye concentration and solution conductivity on color removal efficiency were investigated in this study. The optimum operating range for each of these operating variables was experimentally determined. The experimental results show that the color of Reactive Black 5 in the aqueous phase was removed effectively. Under the conditions of an initial dye concentration of 100 mg L(-1), initial pH of 5, current density of 4.575 mAcm(-2), salt concentration of 3000 mg L(-1), temperature of 20 degrees C, and interelectrode distance of 2.5 cm, the color removal efficiency reached 98.8%. Electrical energy consumption in the above conditions for the decolorization of the dye solution containing Reactive Black 5 was 4.96 kWh/kg dye. Results show that the first-order rate equation provides the best correlation for the decolorization rate of Reactive Black 5.     

Diffusion bonding of electroless Ni plated WC composite to Cu and AISI 316 stainless steel

In this study, a composite containing WC (Tungsten Carbide) and Ni was produced by two different processing routes. Electroless Ni coated WC powders were consolidated and sintered at 1200 °C. Diffusion bonding couples of WC(Ni)-electrolytic Cu, WC(Ni)-AISI 316 stainless steel and WC(Ni)-WC(Ni) were manufactured by using a preloaded compression system under Ar atmosphere. Diffusion bonding was carried out at varying bonding temperatures; 750 °C for (WC)Ni-Cu diffusion couple and 1200 °C for (WC)Ni-(WC)Ni and (WC)Ni-AISI 316 stainless steel diffusion couples. Standard metallographic techniques, Scanning Electron Microscopy and a shear test were employed to characterize the microstructure of bondline and mechanical properties of each diffusion couple, respectively.     

The effect of aggregation on the nonlinear optical absorption performance of indium and gallium phthalocyanines in a solution and co-polymer host

The nonlinear optical properties (NLO) of Pcs can be modified by substituting different metal atoms into the ring or altering peripheral and axial functionalities. In this study, nonlinear optical absorption properties of tetra-substituted gallium and indium phthalocyanine complexes both in solution and polymeric film have been investigated by open aperture Z-scan measurements with nanosecond pulses at 532 nm. All investigated compounds exhibited reverse saturable absorption for both solution and film experiments. The investigated compounds in the solution showed better nonlinear optical absorption properties than polymeric films. The observed nonlinear optical absorption differences depending on the aggregation are discussed using the ultrafast dynamics and decay processes of excited states found from femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy with white light continuum experiments.     

Gabapentin-induced coma in a patient with renal failure

We describe a 60-year-old woman who became comatose after a single dose of gabapentin for right-sided sciatalgia. The patient was improved by hemodialysis. Gabapentin toxicity should be considered when mental status changes develop in patients with renal failure after even a single dose.     

Design of a front-end integrated circuit for 3D acoustic imaging using 2D CMUT arrays

Integration of front-end electronics with 2D capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays has been a challenging issue due to the small element size and large channel count. We present design and verification of a front-end drive-readout integrated circuit for 3D ultrasonic imaging using 2D CMUT arrays. The circuit cell dedicated to a single CMUT array element consists of a high-voltage pulser and a low-noise readout amplifier. To analyze the circuit cell together with the CMUT element, we developed an electrical CMUT model with parameters derived through finite element analysis, and performed both the pre- and postlayout verification. An experimental chip consisting of 4 X 4 array of the designed circuit cells, each cell occupying a 200 X 200 microm2 area, was formed for the initial test studies and scheduled for fabrication in 0.8 microm, 50 V CMOS technology. The designed circuit is suitable for integration with CMUT arrays through flip-chip bonding and the CMUT-on-CMOS process.     

A novel approach for color degradation kinetics of paprika as a function of water activity

The influence of temperature and water activity on color degradation in paprika powders was investigated. The Hunter color parameters (L, a, b), hue angle (h), and total color difference (TCD) were used to estimate the color changes of paprika during thermal treatment at different temperatures (60, 80 and 99 °C) and water activities (0.459, 0.582 and 0.703). The changes in L, a, b and TCD values were significantly influenced by the processing time, temperature and water activity. The color changes during processing and storage were described by a first order kinetic model. The temperature dependence of the degradation followed the Arrhenius relation. Samples with a high water activity exhibited a high rate constant of the color degradation. The effect of water activity on activation energy was not significant. A linear relationship between the water activity and rate constant of the color parameters was found. By incorporating the linear relationship k_refa_w into the Arrhenius equation, a modified Arrhenius equation was proposed which was used to predict paprika color changes as influenced by temperature and water activity.     

Deposition and flocculation of asphaltenes from crude oils

A crude oil has four main constituents: saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. The asphaltenes in crude oil are the most complex and heavy organic compounds. The classic definition of asphaltenes is based on the solution properties of petroleum residuum in various solvents. Asphaltenes are a solubility range that is soluble in light aromatics such as benzene and toluene, but are insoluble in lighter paraffins. The particular paraffins, such as n-pentane and n-heptane, are used to precipitate asphaltenes from crude oil. Deposition of asphaltenes in petroleum crude and heavy oil can cause a number of severe problems. The precipitation of asphaltene aggregates can cause such severe problems as reservoir plugging and wettability reversal. Asphaltenes can precipitate on metal surface. Cleaning the precipitation site as well as possible appears to slow reprecipitation. To prevent deposition inside the reservoir, it is necessary to estimate the amount of deposition due to various factors. The processes can be changed to minimize the asphaltene flocculation, and chemical applications can be used effectively to control depositions when process changes are not cost effective. Asphaltene flocculation can be controlled through better knowledge of the mechanisms that cause its flocculation in the first place. The processes can be controlled to minimize the asphaltene flocculation, and chemical applications can be used effectively to control depositions when process changes are not cost effective.