Emissions Production from Small Heat Sources Depending on Various Aspects

Mobile Networks and Applications - Solid fuels combustion is rather complicated because there is always environment pollution by emissions, mainly by particulate matter. The efforts of heat sources...     

Carotenoids from Marine Sources as a New Approach in Neuroplasticity Enhancement

An increasing number of people experience disorders related to the central nervous system (CNS). Thus, new forms of therapy, which may be helpful in repairing processes’ enhancement and restoring declined brain functions, are constantly being sought. One of the most relevant physiological processes occurring in the brain for its entire life is neuroplasticity. It has tremendous significance concerning CNS disorders since neurological recovery mainly depends on restoring its structural and functional organization. The main factors contributing to nerve tissue damage are oxidative stress and inflammation. Hence, marine carotenoids, abundantly occurring in the aquatic environment, being potent antioxidant compounds, may play a pivotal role in nerve cell protection. Furthermore, recent results revealed another valuable characteristic of these compounds in CNS therapy. By inhibiting oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, carotenoids promote synaptogenesis and neurogenesis, consequently presenting neuroprotective activity. Therefore, this paper focuses on the carotenoids obtained from marine sources and their impact on neuroplasticity enhancement.     

Role of sex pheromone components in behavioral reproductive isolation betweenAutographa gamma (L.) and eitherTrichoplusia ni (Hübner) ORChrysodeixis chalcites (Esp.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Plusiinae)

The composition of theAutographa gamma sex pheromone was reexamined and only (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate and (Z)-7-dodecenol were identified by capillary GC, GC-MS, and dimethyl disulfide derivatization and subsequent GC-MS analysis. The fatty acid content of the pheromone glands was also studied, and a series of saturated and unsaturated acids was identified. However, most of the related pheromonal compounds were not detected. The male response to the pheromone components was studied in a flight tunnel and compared with the response to calling females. The best synthetic baits evoked a response similar to that observed to the virgin females, but males spent significantly more time at calling females than at the synthetic baits. The preferred synthetic baits consisted of (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate alone or of a blend with 5% (Z)-7-dodecenol. Increasing the relative amount of the alcohol caused a gradual reduction in male response, particularly in the last steps of the courtship sequence. The addition of the minor sex pheromone components of the sympatric Plusiinae species,Trichoplusia ni andChrysodeixis chalcites, to theA. gamma pheromone was also investigated in the flight tunnel. Some of these components exhibited a significantly antagonistic effect on theA. gamma male courtship behavior. The most potent antagonists were (Z)-5-dodecenyl acetate and (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate. The response ofA. gamma andT. ni males to conspecific and heterospecific females was also compared in the flight tunnel. WhereasA. gamma males were attracted only to their conspecific females, a small percentage ofT. ni males were also attracted toA. gamma females and 11% performed the whole courtship sequence.Contribution from the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), No. 3459-E, 1992 series.     

Mineralization of organic N originating in treated effluent used for irrigation

Reclaimed wastewater and, particularly, secondary effluent used for irrigation, may contain considerable amounts of mineral and organic N. The knowledge regarding N-transformations of effluent-originated organic N in soil is not well established. A method based on ion-exchangers (IE) was developed to remove the mineral N and other ionic species from the effluents, enabling a better follow-up of the reactions of effluent-originated organic N. Modifications of two incubation methods were used to evaluate net mineralization rates and the contributions of ammonification and nitrification of the effluent-originated organic N. A mixture of the ion-exchangers, IRN-77 (H⁺) and IRN-78 (OH^–), was found effective in removing mineral N and other ions from effluents without significantly affecting the content of organic N. In suspension-based experiments performed with a microbially active calcareous clay soil, the nitrification started after about a 1 to 4 d lag (higher lag associated with higher BOD), and the total mineral N reached plateau values after about 9 to 14 d. The time estimated for completion of ammonification of the organic N in the well-mixed and aerated suspensions was 3 to 6 d. Soil incubations were performed after adding the IE-treated effluents to small soil columns. Ammonification of both soil and effluent-originated organic N occurred concomitantly with the nitrification, making the evaluation of rates more complicated. Tracing the time differences in total mineral N between the soils irrigated with the IE-treated effluent and the blank (no added N) enabled the estimation of first order rate constants for the net mineralization of the effluent-originated organic N in: a sandy loam (0.3 wk^–1), a loess (0.4 wk^–1), and in the calcareous clay (1.1 wk^–1). About two thirds of the organic N added to the soils in the columns during the pre-incubation stage were not retained in the soils, whereas ammonium was practically not leached out. The relatively fast movement of the effluent-originated organic N in soil and its mineralization characteristics indicate that this fraction significantly affects the short (days) and middle (weeks) range transformations of N in effluent-irrigated soils.     

Deviation of Fiber Tracts in the Vicinity of Brain Lesions: Evaluation by Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is used to characterize the diffusion properties of deviated white matter caused by brain tumors. DTI was recently shown to be very helpful in delineating white matter both within brain lesions and surrounding them. Displacement of white matter fibers may be one of the consequences of tumor growth adjacent to white matter. The combination of white matter mapping with DTI and gray matter mapping using functional MRI, in some cases, facilitated assessment of the relation between the shifted cortical areas and the corresponding white matter tracts. We found that the fractional anisotropy extracted from DTI is increased by 38% in areas of non-edematous shifted white matter fibers. By contrast, trace apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in those areas were found to be similar to contralateral side and normal control values. Analysis of the three diffusion tensor eigenvalues revealed that the increase in the fractional anisotropy is a result of two processes. The first is the increase in the diffusion parallel to the fibers—λ₁ (by 18%), and the second is the decrease in the diffusion perpendicular to fibers—λ₃ (by 34%) as compared with the contralateral side. These opposing changes cause an increase in the diffusion anisotropy but no change in the trace ADC. It is suggested that the pressure caused by the tumor may lead to an increase in white matter fiber tension, thus causing an increase in λ₁. On the other hand, the same pressure causes increased fiber density per unit area, leading to a higher degree of restricted diffusion in the extracellular space and, hence, a reduction in λ₃.     

Synthesis and magnetorheological characteristics of ribbon‐like,polypyrrole‐coated carbonyl iron suspensions under oscillatory shear

One of the crucial problems of classical magnetorheological (MR) fluids is their high rate of sedimentation. This disadvantage may be substantially eliminated using core‐shell particles. The aim of this study is to prepare spherical carbonyl iron (CI) particles coated with conducing polymer polypyrrole (PPy) with ribbon‐like morphology. Scanning electron microscopy proved the formation of the ribbon‐like layer onto CI particles while Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the chemical structure of PPy. The magnetic properties observed via vibrating sample magnetometer showed decreased magnetization saturation of core‐shell‐structured particles due to the existence of non‐magnetic surface layer. MR measurements performed under oscillatory shear flow as a function of the applied magnetic flux density, temperature, and particle concentration showed that core‐shell particle‐based MR suspension exhibits sufficient MR performance for practical applications. Moreover, the suspension stability is promoted significantly when core‐shell particles are used as a dispersed phase. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Dyeing of leather with microencapsulated acid dye

CI Acid Black 210 was microencapsulated into liposomic systems, and the effects of the microencapsulation on dyebath exhaustion, depth of shade, colour fastness properties and through‐dyeing of chrome‐tanned leather were studied. In comparison with the original dyestuff form, the microencapsulated dye showed a deeper shade and a greater depth of through‐dyeing. Exhaustion and colour fastness values were the same.     

Effect of Ion Concentration Changes in the Limited Extracellular Spaces on Sarcolemmal Ion Transport and Ca2+ Turnover in a Model of Human Ventricular Cardiomyocyte

We have developed a computer model of human cardiac ventricular myocyte (CVM), including t-tubular and cleft spaces with the aim of evaluating the impact of accumulation-depletion of ions in restricted extracellular spaces on transmembrane ion transport and ionic homeostasis in human CVM. The model was based on available data from human CVMs. Under steady state, the effect of ion concentration changes in extracellular spaces on [Ca²⁺]_i-transient was explored as a function of critical fractions of ion transporters in t-tubular membrane (not documented for human CVM). Depletion of Ca²⁺ and accumulation of K⁺ occurring in extracellular spaces slightly affected the transmembrane Ca²⁺ flux, but not the action potential duration (APD₉₀). The [Ca²⁺]_i-transient was reduced (by 2%–9%), depending on the stimulation frequency, the rate of ion exchange between t-tubules and clefts and fractions of ion-transfer proteins in the t-tubular membrane. Under non-steady state, the responses of the model to changes of stimulation frequency were analyzed. A sudden increase of frequency (1–2.5 Hz) caused a temporal decrease of [Ca²⁺] in both extracellular spaces, a reduction of [Ca²⁺]_i-transient (by 15%) and APD₉₀ (by 13 ms). The results reveal different effects of activity-related ion concentration changes in human cardiac t-tubules (steady-state effects) and intercellular clefts (transient effects) in the modulation of membrane ion transport and Ca²⁺ turnover.