Enhanced E/Z Isomerization of (All‐E)‐lycopene by Employing Iron(III) Chloride as a Catalyst

Catalytic isomerization of (all‐E)‐lycopene to Z‐isomers using iron(III) chloride was investigated and optimized under various conditions of solvents, concentrations of iron(III) chloride, and reaction temperatures. The total contents of Z‐isomers converted were higher in the order of CH₂Cl₂ (78.4%) > benzene (61.4%) > acetone (51.5%) > ethyl acetate (50.8%) at 20 °C for 3 h using 1.0 × 10^?3 mg/mL iron(III) chloride for 0.1 mg/mL (all‐E)‐lycopene. However, the decomposition of lycopene was markedly accelerated in CH₂Cl₂: the remaining lycopene after the reaction for 3 h and 12 h was only 79.4% and 47.5%, respectively. As the concentration of catalyst increased in acetone, the Z‐isomerization ratio of lycopene increased to more than 80%, followed by rapid degradation of lycopene to undetectable levels using >4.0 × 10^?3 mg/mL iron(III) chloride with the above concentration of (all‐E)‐lycopene. Finally, greater isomerization (79.9%) was attained at 60 °C in acetone for 3 h in the presence of 1.0 × 10^?3 mg/mL iron(III) chloride, largely without decomposition of lycopene (remaining ratio of total amount of lycopene isomers after the reaction, 96.5%). As iron(III) chloride has found general use as a food additive for iron fortification and acetone is also widely used in the food field, this method can be applied to the food and beverage processing industry.     

EMD半成品中和后的粒径及分析(Ⅱ)

对电解二氧化锰(EMD)半成品中和后的粒径特性值进行分析,发现波动很大,颗粒大的半电池电位(HCP)和转换半电池电位(CHCP)明显偏低.原因是电解槽中使用的阴离子表面活性剂(发泡剂)起了负面的影响.     

Morphology and electrical conductivity of injection-molded polypropylene/carbon black composites with addition of high-density polyethylene

This work attempts to clarify the influence of carbon black (CB) addition on the microstructure of injection-molded high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/polypropylene (PP) blends and effect of shear-induced polymer deformation on the conductive network structure. We observed that HDPE molecules are strongly interacted with carbon surfaces and CB particles are selectively located in HDPE domains. Morphology of the injection-molded specimen consists of three parts, namely, CB-HDPE complex domain, free HDPE domain and PP domain. The volume and microstructure of the free HDPE domain are significantly influenced by HDPE and CB concentration, CB structure, and PP viscosity. We also confirmed that the CB particles are capable of self-assembly to form random conductive networks even under high shear rate within very short time. The morphological changes were finally correlated to the variation of electrical conductivity.     

Technique for arterial-phase contrast-enhanced three-dimensional MR angiography of the carotid and vertebral arteries

Our goal was to evaluate whether contrast-enhanced three-dimensional MR angiography using the MR Smartprep technique would enable us to obtain arterial-phase MR angiograms of the carotid and vertebral arteries. The study included 35 patients with suspected lesions of the neck in whom the MR Smartprep technique was used for MR angiography performed with a 1.5-T superconducting system. The tracker volume was placed primarily in the middle part of the right common carotid artery. The imaging volume was placed in a coronal direction to include the carotid and vertebral arteries from the aortic arch to the skull base. A centric phase-ordering scheme was used. Imaging times were 20 to 38 seconds for 14 patients and 11 to 16 seconds for 21 patients. By using a smaller tracker volume and an imaging time of less than 16 seconds, we were able to achieve a 100% successful triggering rate and to delineate selectively arterial-phase carotid and vertebral arteries with almost no venous contamination. Contract-enhanced 3-D MR angiography with the MR Smartprep technique was useful for showing arterial-phase carotid and vertebral arteries selectively.     

Tape stripping induces marked epidermal proliferation and altered TGF-alpha expression in non-lesional psoriatic skin

PURPOSE: This study was performed to establish the classification and the treatment modality for recurrent cervical cancer of the vaginal stump after hysterectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety patients with centrally recurrent cervical cancer of the vaginal stump following hysterectomy were treated with high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy with or without external irradiation. The intervals between primary surgery and vaginal recurrences varied from 3 months to 36 years. Tumor size of the vaginal stump was determined by bimanual rectovaginal examination at the time of recurrence and was classified into three groups, i.e., small (no palpable tumor), medium (less than 3 cm), and large (3 cm or more). RESULTS: The 10-year survival rates for all patients were 52%. Survival was greatly influenced by the tumor sizes of the vaginal stump. The 10-year survival rates of patients with small, medium, and large size tumors were 72, 48, and 0%, respectively. All patients with large size tumors died within 5 years. Of 90 patients, 75 (83%) were determined by physical examination to be free of tumor on at least one visit within 2 months of the completion of treatment (CR). The remaining 15 patients (17%) had physical findings suggestive of residual tumor (Residual). The overall 10-year survival rate for all patients with CR was 63%, compared with 10% for the patients with Residual (P < 0.0001). The incidences of distant metastases of the patients with or without local failure were 55 and 13%, respectively (P < 0.0001). The patients with local failure had significantly higher incidence of metastases. Most patients with small size tumor were treated with brachytherapy alone, and the survival rates of these patients were not improved by combination with external irradiation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that tumor size was a significant prognostic factor for recurrent cervical cancer of the vaginal stump. Patients with small size tumors were recommended to be treated with brachytherapy alone.     

Spontaneous remission of desquamative interstitial pneumonia

We report a case of spontaneous remission of desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) in a 50-year-old male. The histological diagnosis of DIP was based on open lung biopsy. A chest X-ray revealed reticulo-nodular shadows in the bilateral lung fields, and the patient had mild dyspnea on exertion. Without treatment, these shadows decreased gradually and disappeared after several months. The patient recovered completely within one year, and recurrence of the disease has not been observed for 4 years. Recently, DIP has rarely been described, and the spontaneous remission of DIP has not been reported since Carrington et al in 1978 (1).     

High-shear effects on the nano-dispersed structure of the PVDF/PA11 blends

The fabrication of miscible or nanostructured polymer blends or alloys raises much hope, but poses significant scientific and industrial challenges over the past several decades. Here, we propose a novel strategy using high-shear processing and demonstrate the high-shear effects on the nanodispersed structure formed in the poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/polyamide 11 (PAll) blends, in which PA11 domains with a size of several tens of nanometers are dispersed in the PVDF phase. For the blend of PVDF/PA11 = 65/35, the TEM image shows that many nanometer-sized PAl1 particles are dispersed in the PVDF domain to form a special type of domain-in-domain morphology. In contrast, no PVDF nano-dispersion was observed in the PA11 phase. The effects of both the screw rotation speed and the mixing time on the blend structure were systematically studied. It shows that the extruder screw rotation speed and the mixing time are two critical factors to prepare the nanostructured blends. In addition, the investigations on the thermal behavior of the obtained blends indicate the improved miscibility between PVDF and PAl1 by the high shear processing.     

Metal-free phthalocyanine (H2Pc) molecule adsorbed on the Au(111) surface: formation of a wide domain along a single lattice direction

Using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we observed the bonding configuration of the metal-free phthalocyanine (H₂Pc) molecule adsorbed on the Au(111) surface. A local lattice formation started from a quasi-square lattice aligned to the close-packed directions of the Au(111) surface. Although we expected the lattice alignment to be equally distributed along the three crystallographically equivalent directions, the domain aligned normal to the ridge of the herringbone structure was missing in the STM images. We attribute this effect to the uniaxial contraction of the reconstructed Au(111) surface that can account for the formation of a large lattice domain along a single crystallographical direction.