In Vitro Simultaneous Transfer of Lipids to HDL in Coronary Artery Disease and in Statin Treatment

The exchange of lipids with cells and other lipoproteins is a crucial process in HDL metabolism and for HDL antiatherogenic function. Here, we tested a practical method to quantify the simultaneous transfer to HDL of phospholipids, free-cholesterol, esterified cholesterol and triacylglycerols and to verify the lipid transfer in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) or undergoing statin treatment. Twenty-eight control subjects without CAD, 27 with CAD and 25 CAD patients under simvastatin treatment were studied. Plasma samples were incubated with a donor nanoemulsion prepared by ultrasonication of the constituent lipids and labeled with radioactive lipids; % lipids transferred to HDL were quantified in the HDL-containing supernatant after chemical precipitation of non-HDL fractions and the nanoemulsion. The assay was precise and reproducible. Increase of temperature (4–37 °C), of incubation period (5 min to 2 h), of HDL-cholesterol concentration (33–244 mg/dL) and of mass of nanoemulsion lipids (0.075–0.3 mg/μL) resulted in increased lipid transfer from the nanoemulsion to HDL. In contrast, increasing pH (6.5–8.5) and albumin concentration (3.5–7.0 g/dL) did not affect lipid transfer. There was no difference between CAD and control non-CAD with regard to the lipid transfer, but statin treatment reduced the transfer to HDL of all four lipids. The test herein described is a valid and practical tool for exploring an important aspect of HDL metabolism.     

Natural organic matter and sunlight accelerate the degradation of 17ß-estradiol in water

Nanomolar concentrations of steroid hormones such as 17β-estradiol can influence the reproductive development and sex ratios of invertebrate and vertebrate populations. Thus their release into surface and ground waters from wastewater facilities and agricultural applications of animal waste is of environmental concern. Many of these compounds are chromophoric and susceptible to photolytic degradation. High intensity UV-C radiation has been demonstrated to degrade some of these compounds in engineered systems. However, the degradation efficacy of natural solar radiation in shallow fresh waters is less understood. Here photolytic experiments with 17β-estradiol demonstrated modest photodegradation (~ 26%) when exposed to simulated sunlight between 290 and 720 nm. Photodegradation significantly increased (~ 40-50%) in the presence of 2.0-15.0 mg/l of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) derived from humic acids of the Suwannee River, GA. However, rates of photodegradation reached a threshold at approximately 5.0 mg/l DOC. Observed suppression of photolysis in the presence of a radical inhibitor (i.e. 2-propanol) indicated that a significant proportion of the degradation was due to radicals formed from the photolysis of DOC. Although photodegradation was greatest in full sunlight containing UV-B (290-320 nm), degradation was also detected with UV-A (320-400 nm) and visible light (400-720 nm) alone.     

Nanosecond dynamics of phase transitions in chromophoredoped ferroelectric crystals

The microscopic dynamics of phase transitions in ferroelectric crystals are studied using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence decay times of the molecular probe tryptophan, embedded in the ferroelectric crystals potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) and triglycine sulfate (TGS), are measured over a large temperature range. The dependence of the lifetime data on temperature were different between the two crystals. The magnitude of the fluorescence lifetime shows a rapid change around the phase transition temperature in KDP, while the changes in the lifetime data of the TGS crystal have been smooth. The data indicate that the order of the phase transition in solids (first or second) can be recovered using this technique. Since fluorescence lifetime is related to the dynamic interactions between the chromophore and the environment, insight into the emergence of macroscopic phase transition behavior from microscopic fluctuations near the phase transition region may be realized.     

Research into integrated design and manufacturing based on STEP

This paper discusses a typical STEP-compliant manufacturing environment, which effectively integrates two systems. The first generates native data that retain the information needed to machine a part on a particular machine tool, whereas the second carries out optimization for machining parameters using the dispatched information from the first system. The related research work is divided into four areas, feature generation, macro process planning, micro process planning, and machining execution. The main part of the paper is devoted to reviewing the most recent research publications. The publications have been organized into the four areas as mentioned above. The discussion section that follows looks at the STEP-compliant research from the perspectives of industrial adoption, feature recognition for process planning, challenges in STEP-enabled inspection and STEP-NC controllers.     

Excitation Transfer in Porous Silicas — A Fractal Approach

In this paper, we present both experimental data and a theoretical study of the excited state energy transfer in irregular systems. Picosecond time-resolved luminescence techniques were employed to resolve the fluorescence curves of both donor and acceptor molecules. By analyzing the kinetics of direct electronic energy transfer, the effective dimensions describing the distributions of adsorbed dye molecules on the surfaces of silica gels and controlled-pore glasses were obtained. The same dimensions for silica gels were obtained in fluorescence depolarization experiments in one-component (only donors) systems and in migration-accelerated trapping (indirect energy transfer) measurements.     

Evaluation of Some Nonionic Surfactants Derived From Vanillin as Corrosion Inhibitors for Carbon Steel During Drilling Processes

Four eco‐friendly nonionic surfactants based on vanillin were investigated as corrosion inhibitors against carbon steel dissolution during the drilling process in the oil field. The corrosion inhibition efficiencies of the tested compounds were determined using weight loss, electrochemical polarization, and electrochemical impedance techniques. The data obtained show that the nonionic surfactants prevent the corrosion of drilling tools and their inhibition efficiency increased with an increase in their concentration. Tafel curves revealed that the surfactants under study act as mixed inhibitors. The adsorption of the inhibitors on carbon steel surface decreases the double‐layer capacitance. The inhibition efficiencies of the surfactants were influenced by their chemical structure and surface activity.     

Synthesis,Structure Characterization and Biological Activity of Co (II), Cu (II), and Zn (II) Complexes with (Z)‐3‐((3‐hydroxybenzylidene)amino)pyridin‐1‐ium 4‐(dodecan‐4‐yl)benzenesulfonate Surfactant

(Z)‐3‐((3‐hydroxybenzylidene)amino)pyridin‐1‐ium4‐dodecylbenzenesulfonate anionic surfactant and its cobalt, copper and zinc complexes were synthesized (I, I‐Co, I‐Cu and I‐Zn). The chemical structures of it were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, UV–Vis spectroscopy and atomic adsorption. The effects of the chemical structures of the synthesized anionic surfactant and the type of transition metals on the surface activity are presented in this paper. The thermodynamic parameters show that adsorption and micellization processes are spontaneous. The results of biological activity measurements showed that the synthesized compounds have a great efficiency against gram positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus), gram‐ negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) and fungi (Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger) as well as the sulfate reducing bacteria (Desulfomonas pigra). The complexation of the anionic surfactant with Co²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ increase the antimicrobial activity values.     

Brookite Formation in TiO2?Ag Nanocomposites and Visible‐Light‐Induced Templated Growth of Ag Nanostructures in TiO2

TiO₂? Ag‐nanocomposites exhibit various desirable properties that make them suitable for a variety of applications, for example in photocatalysis and as bactericidal coatings. In this work, a new method for processing TiO₂? Ag nanocomposites is presented. The nanocomposite films are fabricated from one precursor solution with high silver loading of up to 50%. The resulting films exhibit a microstructure consisting of TiO₂? Ag_xO nanocomposites with a largely XRD‐amorphous TiO₂ matrix containing brookite nanocrystals. This specific microstructure absorbs in the visible range so that photoreduction of Ag ions can be accomplished by using visible light. The thin films can be patterned using simple shadow masks. The illuminated areas show a high density of self‐organized nanoparticles (SNPs) and nanorods (SNRs), which are templated by the TiO₂ porous network. The particle size can be tuned by varying the irradiation time. Most of the SNPs and SNRs form faceted crystals, which are mostly a combination of {111} and {110}. The application of these films as substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering is shown. Enhancement factors as high as 4.6 × 10⁶ could be obtained using rhodamine 6G dye molecules. More applications should involve photocatalytic water purification using visible light.