An improved procedure for obtaining and maintaining well characterized partial water saturation states on concrete samples to be used for mass transport tests

A conditioning procedure is proposed allowing to install into the concrete specimens any selected value of water saturation degree with homogeneous moisture distribution. This is achieved within the least time and the minimum alteration of the concrete specimens. The protocol has the following steps: obtaining basic drying data at 50 °C (water absorption capacity and drying curves); unidirectional drying of the specimens at 50 °C until reaching the target saturation degree values; redistribution phase in closed containers at 50 °C (with measurement of the quasi-equilibrium relative humidities); storage into controlled environment chambers until and during mass transport tests, if necessary. A water transport model is used to derive transport parameters of the tested materials from the drying data, i.e., relative permeabilities and apparent water diffusion coefficients. The model also allows calculating moisture profiles during isothermal drying and redistribution phases, thus allowing optimization of the redistribution times for obtaining homogeneous moisture distributions.     

Phytochemical profile of a blend of black chokeberry and lemon juice with cholinesterase inhibitory effect and antioxidant potential

In this study, black chokeberry concentrate was added (5% w/v) to lemon juice, since previous reports suggested potential health benefits of this blend. The phytochemical composition, antioxidant capacity (scavenging of DPPH, superoxide and hydroxyl radicals, and hypochlorous acid), and inhibitory activity against cholinesterase of the new blend were determined and compared with those of lemon juice and chokeberry in citric acid (5%). The chokeberry concentrate, rich in cyanidin-glycosides, quercetin derivatives, and 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, and lemon juice, possessing flavones, flavanones, quercetin derivates, and hydroxycinnamic acids, were characterised. The new drink showed a higher antioxidant effect than the chokeberry or lemon controls for all the tested methods, except for hypochlorous acid, in which lemon juice displayed higher activity. Both the lemon juice and chokeberry controls inhibited acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, and this effect was increased in the new mixtures. The results of the different radical scavenging assays indicate that the lemon–black chokeberry (5% w/v) mixture was more antioxidative than the respective controls separately. Moreover, their inhibition of cholinesterase is of interest regarding neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or senile dementia.     

Factors governing the atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to remote areas

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in bulk atmospheric deposition collected in three remote areas of Europe during 1997-1998. Mean total PAH fluxes over a period of 18 months were 1560 +/- 750 and 1150 +/- 630 ng m(-2) mo(-1) in the Pyrenees and the Alps, respectively. In the Caledonian mountains (Scandinavia) the observed mean fluxes were 1900 +/- 940 ng m(-2) mo(-1) (6 month collection). Similar qualitative PAH compositions (p values <0.05) in the bulk atmospheric deposition have been observed between sites, which are dominated by the more volatile parent compounds. The main differences between lakes are related to the high molecular weight compounds. Atmospheric deposition of PAH to these remote sites appears to be independent of their concentrations in the atmosphere, which are similar between sites (in the range of 1.8-3.0 ng x m(-3)), being controlled mainly by particle deposition, followed by precipitation and air temperature. A multilevel regression model including these three variables accounted for 74% of the total variability in total PAH bulk deposition; however, the contribution of each variable in the model is compound and site-dependent. The deposition of high molecular weight PAH depends more on particle deposition and precipitation, whereas air temperature is the main factor controlling the deposition fluxes of the low molecular weight PAH.     

Exploiting Catharanthus roseus roots: Source of antioxidants

Catharanthus roseus is among the most important medicinal plants, mainly due to its anticancer alkaloids.     

Re-use of drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) sludge: Characterization and technological behaviour of cement mortars with atomized sludge additions

This paper aims to characterize spray-dried DWTP sludge and evaluate its possible use as an addition for the cement industry. It describes the physical, chemical and micro-structural characterization of the sludge as well as the effect of its addition to Portland cements on the hydration, water demand, setting and mechanical strength of standardized mortars.Spray drying DWTP sludge generates a readily handled powdery material whose particle size is similar to those of Portland cement. The atomized sludge contains 12-14% organic matter (mainly fatty acids), while its main mineral constituents are muscovite, quartz, calcite, dolomite and seraphinite (or clinoclor). Its amorphous material content is 35%.The mortars were made with type CEM I Portland cement mixed with 10 to 30% atomized sludge exhibited lower mechanical strength than the control cement and a decline in slump. Setting was also altered in the blended cements with respect to the control.     

Hesperetin: A marker of the floral origin of citrus honey

Seventeen flavonoid aglycones were identified in various experimental and commercial citrus honey samples by HPLC analysis. The flavanone hesperetin was detected in all samples. This flavanone was not detected in any of the honey samples, from diverse floral origin (including rosemary, lavender, sunflower, almond, sweet chestnut, white clover, Erisarum, Robinia, Rhododendron, Tilia, Prosopis, Eucalyptus and Calluna honeys) previously investigated. The analysis of the flavonoids present in orange nectar revealed that the flavanone hesperidin (hesperetin-7-rutinoside) was the major flavonoid detected and, therefore, this should be the main source of the hesperetin found in citrus honey. Hesperetin should be produced by hydrolysis of hesperidin by the bee enzymes present in honey. These results suggest that hesperetin could be used as a marker for the botanical origin of citrus honey.     

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of tronchuda cabbage internal leaves

A phytochemical study was undertaken on the internal leaves of tronchuda cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC). Seventeen phenolic compounds were characterized and quantified by reversed-phase HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS ⁿ and HPLC/DAD, respectively: quercetin 3-O-sophoroside-7-O-glucoside, 3-p-coumaroylquinic acid, kaempferol 3-O-sophoroside-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol 3-O-(caffeoyl)-sophoroside-7-O-glucoside, sinapoyl gluc-oside acid, kaempferol 3-O-(sinapoyl)-sophoroside-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol 3-O-(feruloyl)-sophoroside-7-O-glucoside, kaempferol 3-O-(p-coumaroyl)-sophoroside-7-O-glucoside, 4-p-coumaroylquinic acid, sinapic acid, kaempferol 3-O-sophoroside, 3 isomeric forms of 1,2-disinapoylgentiobiose, 1-sinapoyl-2-feruloylgentiobiose, 1,2,2-trisinapoylgentiobiose and 1,2′-disinapoyl-2-ferul-oylgentiobiose. Seven organic acids (aconitic, citric, ascorbic, malic, quinic, shikimic and fumaric acids) were also identified and quantified. The hot water extract of tronchuda cabbage internal leaves was investigated for its capacity to act as a scavenger of DPPH^• radical and reactive oxygen species (superoxide radical, hydroxyl radical and hypochlorous acid), exhibiting antioxidant capacity in a concentration dependent manner against all radicals.     

Comparison between Nanoparticle Encapsulation and Surface Loading for Lysosomal Enzyme Replacement Therapy

Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) enhance the delivery of therapeutic enzymes for replacement therapy of lysosomal storage disorders. Previous studies examined NPs encapsulating or coated with enzymes, but these formulations have never been compared. We examined this using hyaluronidase (HAse), deficient in mucopolysaccharidosis IX, and acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), deficient in types A–B Niemann–Pick disease. Initial screening of size, PDI, ζ potential, and loading resulted in the selection of the Lactel II co-polymer vs. Lactel I or Resomer, and Pluronic F68 surfactant vs. PVA or DMAB. Enzyme input and addition of carrier protein were evaluated, rendering NPs having, e.g., 181 nm diameter, 0.15 PDI, −36 mV ζ potential, and 538 HAse molecules encapsulated per NP. Similar NPs were coated with enzyme, which reduced loading (e.g., 292 HAse molecules/NP). NPs were coated with targeting antibodies (> 122 molecules/NP), lyophilized for storage without alterations, and acceptably stable at physiological conditions. NPs were internalized, trafficked to lysosomes, released active enzyme at lysosomal conditions, and targeted both peripheral organs and the brain after i.v. administration in mice. While both formulations enhanced enzyme delivery compared to free enzyme, encapsulating NPs surpassed coated counterparts (18.4- vs. 4.3-fold enhancement in cells and 6.2- vs. 3-fold enhancement in brains), providing guidance for future applications.     

Phenolic profiles of cherry tomatoes as influenced by hydric stress and rootstock technique

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of genetic and technological factors (cultivar and grafting) combined with the abiotic stress (water stress) on the content of phenolic compounds (flavonoids and phenolic acids classes and total phenolics) in cherry tomato. The identification and contents of phenolic compounds and flavonoids were determined by HPLC-MS in fruits on reciprocal grafting between a drought-tolerant cultivar (Zarina) and drought-sensible cultivar (Josefina), compared with both self-grafted and non-grafted plants. The results show how pre-harvest factors, such as grafting and water stress, can influence the phenolic content of tomato fruits. Phenolic compounds, including rutin that belongs to the group of flavonoids, display a remarkable array of biological and pharmacological activities. So, the richness of ZarxJos under water stress conditions with these compounds confirms its nutritional value and it can be used as a potential source of phenols. The results suggest that grafting on specific rootstocks more adapted to water stress conditions may be a tool to improve crop quality under artificially imposed mild water stress.     

Design and implementation of a scene-dependent dynamically selfadaptable wavefront coding imaging system

A computational imaging system based on wavefront coding is presented. Wavefront coding provides an extension of the depth-of-field at the expense of a slight reduction of image quality. This trade-off results from the amount of coding used. By using spatial light modulators, a flexible coding is achieved which permits it to be increased or decreased as needed. In this paper a computational method is proposed for evaluating the output of a wavefront coding imaging system equipped with a spatial light modulator, with the aim of thus making it possible to implement the most suitable coding strength for a given scene. This is achieved in an unsupervised manner, thus the whole system acts as a dynamically selfadaptable imaging system. The program presented here controls the spatial light modulator and the camera, and also processes the images in a synchronised way in order to implement the dynamic system in real time. A prototype of the system was implemented in the laboratory and illustrative examples of the performance are reported in this paper.Program summaryProgram title: DynWFC (Dynamic WaveFront Coding)Catalogue identifier: AEKC_v1_0Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEKC_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen?s University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.htmlNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 10 483No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 2 437 713Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: Labview 8.5 and NI Vision and MinGW C CompilerComputer: Tested on PC Intel^® Pentium^®Operating system: Tested on Windows XPClassification: 18Nature of problem: The program implements an enhanced wavefront coding imaging system able to adapt the degree of coding to the requirements of a specific scene. The program controls the acquisition by a camera, the display of a spatial light modulator and the image processing operations synchronously. The spatial light modulator is used to implement the phase mask with flexibility given the trade-off between depth-of-field extension and image quality achieved. The action of the program is to evaluate the depth-of-field requirements of the specific scene and subsequently control the coding established by the spatial light modulator, in real time.