Luster Pottery from the Thirteenth Century to the Sixteenth Century: A Nanostructured Thin Metallic Film

Luster is a decorative metallic film that was applied on the surface of medieval glazed pottery. It can be obtained via the low-temperature (∼650°C), controlled reduction of copper and silver compounds. In this paper, we show that luster is a thin layered film (200–500 nm thick) that contains metallic spherical nanocrystals dispersed in a silicon-rich matrix and has a metal-free outermost glassy layer that is 10–20 nm thick. Silver nanocrystals seem to be separated from those of copper, forming aggregates 5–100 μm in diameter. This composite structure exhibits optical properties that are dependent on both the particle size and the matrix. Luster is indeed the first reproducible nanostructured thin metallic film that was made by humans.     

聚氨酯胶粘剂水解问题的有效解决途径

聚合物有几种主要的降解机理:热降解、化学物降解、氧化降解、微生物降解以及水解降解。其中,水解是缩聚反应生成的聚合物最致命的弱点,聚氨酯粘合剂也不例外。水解使聚合物的力学性能在一段时间后丧失殆尽,严重影响了其使用性能和应用范围。碳化二亚胺(Stabaxol~(?))是为解决酯类聚合物水解问题而研制的高效抗水解剂。文章描述了碳化二亚胺抗水解剂在聚酯型聚氨酯粘合剂中的水解保护机理及效果。     

Increased HDL Size and Enhanced Apo A-I Catabolic Rates Are Associated With Doxorubicin-Induced Proteinuria in New Zealand White Rabbits

The catabolism and structure of high‐density lipoproteins (HDL) may be the determining factor of their atheroprotective properties. To better understand the role of the kidney in HDL catabolism, here we characterized HDL subclasses and the catabolic rates of apo A‐I in a rabbit model of proteinuria. Proteinuria was induced by intravenous administration of doxorubicin in New Zealand white rabbits (n = 10). HDL size and HDL subclass lipids were assessed by electrophoresis of the isolated lipoproteins. The catabolic rate of HDL‐apo A‐I was evaluated by exogenous radiolabelling with iodine‐131. Doxorubicin induced significant proteinuria after 4 weeks (4.47 ± 0.55 vs. 0.30 ± 0.02 g/L of protein in urine, P < 0.001) associated with increased uremia, creatininemia, and cardiotoxicity. Large HDL2b augmented significantly during proteinuria, whereas small HDL3b and HDL3c decreased compared to basal conditions. HDL2b, HDL2a, and HDL3a subclasses were enriched with triacylglycerols in proteinuric animals as determined by the triacylglycerol‐to‐phospholipid ratio; the cholesterol content in HDL subclasses remained unchanged. The fractional catabolic rate (FCR) of [¹³¹I]‐apo A‐I in the proteinuric rabbits was faster (FCR = 0.036 h^?1) compared to control rabbits group (FCR = 0.026 h^?1, P < 0.05). Apo E increased and apo A‐I decreased in HDL, whereas PON‐1 activity increased in proteinuric rabbits. Proteinuria was associated with an increased number of large HDL2b particles and a decreased number of small HDL3b and 3c. Proteinuria was also connected to an alteration in HDL subclass lipids, apolipoprotein content of HDL, high paraoxonase‐1 activity, and a rise in the fractional catabolic rate of the [¹³¹I]‐apo A‐I.     

A New Triazole-Thiol Compound Organofunctionalized on the Silica Gel Surface: Chemical Properties and Copper Sorption in Ethanol / Water Media

Silicon - This study describes the preparation and characterization of 3-chloropropyl silica gel with 4-amino-5-(4pyridyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (SGA) for copper adsorption in different media....     

Novel Tacrine‐Grafted Ugi Adducts as Multipotent Anti‐Alzheimer Drugs: A Synthetic Renewal in Tacrine–Ferulic Acid Hybrids

Herein we describe the design, multicomponent synthesis, and biological, molecular modeling and ADMET studies, as well as in vitro PAMPA‐blood–brain barrier (BBB) analysis of new tacrine–ferulic acid hybrids (TFAHs). We identified (E)‐3‐(hydroxy‐3‐methoxyphenyl)‐N‐{8[(7‐methoxy‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroacridin‐9‐yl)amino]octyl}‐N‐[2‐(naphthalen‐2‐ylamino)2‐oxoethyl]acrylamide (TFAH 10 n ) as a particularly interesting multipotent compound that shows moderate and completely selective inhibition of human butyrylcholinesterase (IC₅₀=68.2 nM ), strong antioxidant activity (4.29 equiv trolox in an oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay), and good β‐amyloid (Aβ) anti‐aggregation properties (65.6 % at 1:1 ratio); moreover, it is able to permeate central nervous system (CNS) tissues, as determined by PAMPA‐BBB assay. Notably, even when tested at very high concentrations, TFAH 10 n easily surpasses the other TFAHs in hepatotoxicity profiling (59.4 % cell viability at 1000 μM ), affording good neuroprotection against toxic insults such as Aβ_1–40, Aβ_1–42, H₂O₂, and oligomycin A/rotenone on SH‐SY5Y cells, at 1 μM . The results reported herein support the development of new multipotent TFAH derivatives as potential drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer′s disease.     

Light induced electropolymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) on niobium oxide

The photoelectrochemical polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), PEDOT, was successfully realized on anodic film grown to 50 V on magnetron sputtered niobium. Photocurrent Spectroscopy was employed to study the optical properties of Nb/Nb₂O₅/PEDOT/electrolyte interface in a large range of potential, and to get an estimate of the band gap and flat band potential of both the oxide and the polymer. Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to study the morphology of PEDOT. Both the optical and morphological features of the photoelectrochemically grown polymer were compared with those showed by PEDOT electropolymerized on gold conducting substrate.     

Effect of the nanoparticles in the stability of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide/resorcinol/formaldehyde gel systems for water shut-off/conformance control applications

The main objective of this work is to evaluate the inclusion of nanoparticles to partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide/resorcinol/formaldehyde gel systems to improve the stability under static and dynamic conditions. Oxide nanoparticles (<100 mg·L⁻¹) of SiO₂, Al₂O₃, MgO, and Cr₂O₃ were employed and characterized by their physicochemical properties. Gels were prepared and subsequently placed at 70 °C for evaluating the nanoparticles influence in gel strength through rheological properties and syneresis measurements. Al₂O₃ nanoparticles showed the highest potential for the reduction of the syneresis phenomena, followed by MgO and Cr₂O₃. The SiO₂ nanoparticles lead to a higher degradation of the gel. As the zeta potential increases, the syneresis of the gel system decreases. The nanoparticles did not significantly affect the storage modulus, describing similar gel strength than the original gel. Also, displacement tests showed an incremental of 64% of oil recovery regarding the system in the absence of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47568.     

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANIFS) and artificial neural network (ANN) applied for indium (III) adsorption on carbonaceous materials

Abstract

In this paper, we present an initial study relating the adsorption of indium (III) onto carbonaceous materials, namely the activated carbon (AC), multiwalled carbon nanotubes functionalized with OH (MWCNT–OH), and the multiwalled carbon nanotubes functionalized with COOH (MWCNT–COOH). The main objective of this study is the development of the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and an artificial neural network (ANN) for predicting the adsorption capacity in different operating conditions for different materials. Both models take into account the adsorbent type, adsorbent dosage (0.05, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0?g L^?1), and the contact time (5, 20, 60, and 120?min) for predicting the adsorption capacity, which varied from 12.896 to 981.000?mg g^?1, a total record of 72 was used. Both modeling methodologies applied can represent the experimental data, taking into account the statistical values obtained. The ANFIS achieved the best performance when the hybrid method was selected, this leads into R of 0.9998, RMSE of 48,373 with 250 epochs. On the other hand, the ANN can represent the best performance when using the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, reaching an R of 0.9831, MSE of 0.0180 and 9 epochs. Considering the modeling and experimental aspects indicates that the increase of the adsorbent dosage diminished the adsorbent capacity. The increase of the contact time causes the effect to increase the adsorption capacity until its equilibrium. Lastly, it is possible to conclude that the MWCNT–COOH is the most suitable adsorbent to be used between the selected materials.     

Effect of finishing and ageing time on quality attributes of loin from the meat of Holstein–Fresian cull cows

The effects of finishing time, (T0 = 0, T1 = 30 and T2 = 60 days), on Holstein–Friesian cull cows (n = 18) and post-mortem ageing, (1, 7, 14, 21, 35 and 42 days), under vacuum conditions of Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscles were investigated. The objective of this research was to study how finishing feeding (based on a commercial concentrate and corn silage), following a pasture period of 90 days, affected carcass and meat quality. Ageing time effect was also evaluated on the main quality attribute of added value pieces, such as “striploin of ox” from cull cows. Finishing treatment affected intramuscular fat content (IMF), moisture percentage, water-holding capacity (WHC), colour parameters and shear force of meat at 24 h post-mortem, whereas ageing time enhanced meat tenderness, when this was measured by two textural tests, Warner–Braztler (WB) and textural profile analysis (TPA). A minimum shear force was achieved at 7 and 14 days of ageing for T1 and T2, respectively. No differences (P > 0.05) could be found in colour parameters from 7 to 42 days. The results show that a finishing time of two months is very beneficial, due to the increase in meat fatness, improved overall carcass quality and luminosity (L*). Furthermore, 14 ageing days were sufficient to improved tenderness. Ageing time did not have an effect on lipid oxidation (P > 0.05) and this leads us to conclude that meat shelf life exceeded 42 days under vacuum conditions’.     

Applicability of NIR spectroscopy to determine oil and other physicochemical parameters in Rosa mosqueta and Chilean hazelnut

Due to the increasing interest in certain components, specially the oil, from non-conventional seeds as Rosa mosqueta (Rosa rubiginosa) and Chilean hazelnut (Gevuina avellana), quick determinations of oil and other parameters were carried out by using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Moisture, oil, fiber (as acid detergent fiber) and protein from solid samples of the seeds as mentioned, along with those of soybean (Glycine max), already analyzed by NIR and for serving as control for the variability of the method, were studied. Sample interactions to NIR radiations were processed using the multivariate regression algorithm Partial Least Squared (PLS) to build a calibration model. Standard error of cross-validation (SECV) was used to estimate the prediction error. Moisture of Rosa mosqueta, Chilean hazelnut presscake and soybean meal (in the ranges 10–15, 10–15, 8–10%, respectively), acid detergent fiber (60–68, 12–16, 10–15%, respectively), oil (1–4, 14–20, 5–13%, respectively) and protein (1–5, 8–15, 27–45%, respectively) were previously determined by wet analysis using standard methods, so creating a library. The possibility to analyze parameters from very different oilseeds with an acceptable uncertainty was also established. Standard errors of cross-validation were between 1.25 and 2.99%, being the oil content the best predicted parameter.