Lymphatic fatty acids from rats fed human milk and formula supplemented with fish oil

Absorption of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids from human milk and formula supplemented with fish oil was studied to determine if the distribution route into lymphatic triacylglycerol (TAG) and phospholipid (PL) varies with the dietary source. Rats were intraduodenally infused with human milk or formula containing graded amounts of fish oil (0, 0.5, or 1.0 g/100 mL), and the mesenteric lymph was collected. Arachidonic acid (20∶4n−6) levels in lymphatic TAG and PL were highest from animals fed human milk. In the animals infused with formula containing fish oil, as the amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20∶5n−3) infused increased, there was essentially an equal increase of EPA associated with both lymphatic TAG and PL. Animals intraduodenally infused with human milk or formula without fish oil had only minor levels (less than 1%) of EPA in the lymph. In the fish oil-treated animals, as the amount of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22∶6n−3) infused increased, there was a 16-fold increase in DHA associated with lymphatic TAG, but only a 3-fold increase in DHA associated with lymphatic PL. The highest level of DHA in rats infused with human milk was observed in lymphatic PL. Hence, fish oil can be added to formula as a source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, but the distribution of fatty acids into lymphatic TAG and PL is not the same as that observed with human milk.     

Treatment of an Iron-rich ARD Using Waste Carbonate Rock: Bench-Scale Reactor Test Results

The treatment of acid rock drainage (ARD) places extraordinary financial burdens on governments and companies worldwide, and an improved efficiency in treatment by as little as 1% can save many millions of dollars in rehabilitation. We investigated a system for treating Fe-rich ARD using a three-stage reactor design. In the first reaction cell, Fe-rich ARD was partially neutralised using rapid periodic carbonate resuspension with a rotating axial mixer. This was followed by an air-sparged oxidation chamber and then a second reaction cell, with more carbonate periodically resuspended until a pH of 6.3 was reached, which was followed by a settlement chamber. This reactor design has a high capacity for neutralisation, with an efficiency of ≈70% of acidity neutralised by the acid neutralising capacity (g of CaCO₃ equivalent) added to the reactor. Axial mixers were tested because of their low-energy requirements and their high reliability. The intermediate chamber effectively removes Fe by oxidising Fe(II) to Fe(III). Given the amount of acidity neutralised, the sludge volume produced was low compared to other technologies, providing further potential savings in sludge handling. Waste carbonate rock proved to be an effective neutralising agent, even though it was about 60% dolomite and 40% magnesite, with minor calcite, and despite the fact that magnesite has substantially slower dissolution kinetics compared to the more dominant dolomite. The mixed waste carbonates were capable of raising the pH sufficiently to reduce the heavy metal loadings in Fe-rich ARD by more than two orders of magnitude. The final settlement stage of the process was shown to be essential for metal precipitation, for the carry-over of fine carbonates, and CO₂ loss. This was associated with a rise in pH, from 6.3 to 7.5. In addition, residual slow-reacting magnesite from the mixed carbonate remains in the sludge from the first reactor and provides acid buffering capacity within the sludge, which is commonly lacking in the ARD neutralisation sludge of other systems.     

Heat degradation studies of solar heat transfer fluids

Destructive distillation of solar heat transfer fluids was conducted to determine the types of pyrolytic products which might be formed in solar collectors under conditions of stagnation or malfunction. The distillates were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to determine the types of compounds which were present and the minor components which might be formed. Dehydration products were formed from ethylene and propylene glycols with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide being minor products. A high aromatic petroleum heat transfer fluid yielded distillation fractions enriched in quinolines or isoquinolines and methylated derivatives thereof. Fractionation of this aromatic heat transfer fluid showed that the basic fraction of unheated fluid also contained aza-arenes which exhibited mutagenic activity in the Ames' bioassay. GC/MS showed that the basic fraction from unheated heat transfer fluid also contained benzoquinolines which appeared to be lacking in heat degraded samples of the same fluid. Fractionation of heat transfer fluids, in particular petroleum-based fluids, may often be necessary in order to concentrate minor components so that they can be identified by GC/MS and in order to detect mutagenic activities without interference from cytotoxic components.     

Design of molecularly imprinted polymer grafts with embedded gold nanoparticles through the interfacial chemistry of aryl diazonium salts

A novel strategy is described for the preparation of highly sensitive molecularly imprinted (MIPs) sensors for dopamine. It combines mercaptobenzene diazonium salt as a coupling agent for immobilizing gold nanoparticles to gold electrodes and benzoyl benzene diazonium salt as photoinitiator of radical polymerization at the said gold nanoparticle-decorated gold electrodes. The MIP films were prepared by surface-initiated photopolymerization (SIPP) of methacrylic acid (MAA) as functional monomer (F) for dopamine (DA) the template molecule (T), and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), the crosslinker (C). Dimethylaniline was employed as a hydrogen donor. The specificity and selectivity were demonstrated by square wave voltammetry (SWV). The detection limit was 0.35 nmol L^-1 (0.054 ng mL⁻¹). The sensor layers are stable and adherent to the surface through aryl layers. The originality and advantage of the process lie in the use of aryl diazonium salt as coupling agents for anchroring nanoparticles and MIP layers to the electrode surface in a simple and efficient way which ensures high sensing performance together with good surface-MIP adhesion. The same strategy can be extended to a broad range of templates.     

Self-reporting materials: protein-mediated visual indication of damage in a bulk polymer

Damage self-reporting materials are able to indicate the presence of microscopic damaged regions by easy to detect signals, such as fluorescence. Therefore, these smart materials can reduce the risk of catastrophic failure of load-bearing components, e.g., in aerospace and construction applications. We highlight here our proof-of-concept paper and we present some additional data, which shows that proteins can be used as mechanophores in solid polymeric materials. Macroscopic mechanical forces were transferred from the polymer to the embedded proteins. The biomolecules act as molecular strain sensor, giving the material the desired self-reporting property. Poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(acrylamide) (PAAm) networks were doped with small amounts of thermsosome (THS), a protein cage from the family of chaperonins, that encapsulated a pair of fluorescent proteins. THS acts as a scaffold which brings the two fluorescent proteins into distance suitable for fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Moreover, THS can be distorted by mechanic forces so that the distance between the fluorescent proteins changes, leading to a change in FRET efficiency. Using the brittle PAAm as a model system, we were able to visualize microcracks in the polymers by FRET microscopy and by fluorescence lifetime imaging. THS also stabilizes the encapsulated guest proteins against thermal denaturation, increasing their half-live at 70 degrees C by a factor of 2.3.     

Bulk modulus of basic sodalite, Na8[AlSiO4]6(OH)2·2H2O, a possible zeolitic precursor in coal-fly-ash-based geopolymers

Synthetic basic sodalite, Na₈[AlSiO₄]₆(OH)₂·2H₂O, cubic, P43n, (also known as hydroxysodalite hydrate) was prepared by the alkaline activation of amorphous aluminosilicate glass, obtained from the phase separation of Class F fly ash. The sample was subjected to a process similar to geopolymerization, using high concentrations of a NaOH solution at 90 °C for 24 hours. Basic sodalite was chosen as a representative analogue of the zeolite precursor existing in Na-based Class F fly ash geopolymers. To determine its bulk modulus, high-pressure synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction was applied using a diamond anvil cell (DAC) up to a pressure of 4.5 GPa. A curve-fit with a truncated third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state with a fixed K'_o = 4 to pressure-normalized volume data yielded the isothermal bulk modulus, K_o = 43 ± 4 GPa, indicating that basic sodalite is more compressible than sodalite, possibly due to a difference in interactions between the framework host and the guest molecules.     

Bismuth niobate thin films for dielectric energy storage applications

Low‐temperature processed bismuth niobate (BNO) thin films were explored in this work as a potential candidate for high‐energy density capacitors. The BNO samples were fabricated by the chemical solution deposition method followed by a series of ultraviolet (UV) exposure and heat treatments. A UV treatment prior to the final pyrolysis step was found to be useful in eliminating bound carbon. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) demonstrated that the residual carbon could be effectively removed at 350°C after UV exposure. Following a heat treatment at 450°C, the energy storage density of the BNO thin film reached 39 J/cm³ with an efficiency of 72%. Furthermore, 350°C and 375°C treated BNO samples showed high‐temperature stability such that the efficiencies of the films remained above 97% up to 150°C at 10 kHz under 1 MV/cm applied field.     

Estimation of Activation Energies for Sintering 8 mol % Yttria‐Zirconia Using Conventional and Microwave Heating

The activation energies were estimated for conventional and microwave sintering of Zirconia‐8 mol% Yttria (8YZ). The results were analyzed to explain the mechanisms responsible for enhancing flux/mass transport during microwave sintering. The activation energies were evaluated using isothermal and nonisothermal methods. The nonisothermal sintering resulted in higher values of activation energies, as compared to isothermal methods. This behavior may be due to the presence of more than one type of diffusion mechanism dominating throughout the process. The nonisothermal method represented activation energy values close to a single densification mechanism (either volume or grain boundary diffusion). A value of 500 ± 25 kJ/mol was observed for nonisothermal sintering of 8YZ with conventional heating. This value was close to the volume diffusion of Zr ion (500 kJ/mol). The microwave sintering (using nonisothermal method) resulted in activation energy values of 200 ± 27 kJ/mol, a value close to the grain boundary diffusion of the Zr ion.     

The effects of the thaumasite form of sulfate attack on skin friction at the concrete/clay interface

The paper presents the effects of thaumasite sulfate attack (TSA) on skin friction at the concrete/clay interface. Using clay-restrained conditions thaumasite formed attached to the concrete culminating in thaumasite layers of up to 24 mm depending on interface pH and applied pressure. Thaumasite at the interface did not decrease the shear strength including skin friction and cohesion. Therefore it was concluded that TSA occurring at piles or foundation bases does not affect the stability of the superstructure regarding loss of friction and settlements.