Potent inhibitors of the human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 derived from the sesquiterpenoid alcohol longifolol

The tricyclic sesquiterpenol (+)-longifolol served as a lead structure for the design of inhibitors of the human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 2B7. Twenty-four homochiral and epimeric longifolol derivatives were synthesized and screened for their ability to inhibit the enzyme. The absolute configuration at the stereogenic center C1' was determined by X-ray crystallography and 2D NMR spectroscopy (gHSQC, gNOESY). The phenyl-substituted secondary alcohol 16 b (beta-phenyllongifolol) displayed the highest affinity toward UGT2B7, and its inhibitory dissociation constant was 0.91 nM. The mode of inhibition was rapidly reversible and competitive. The inhibitor was not glucuronidated by UGT2B7 or other hepatic UGTs, presumably as a result of the high steric demand exerted by the phenyl group. Inhibition assays employing 14 other UGT isoforms suggested that inhibitor 16 b was highly selective for UGT2B7.     

Modelling Gas Holdup in Flotation Column Froths

A one‐dimensional steady‐state model is developed for the prediction of axial variation of the gas holdup in flotation column froths. Froth is considered as an inverse fluidized bed of bubbles and hence the frictional pressure gradient is obtained based on the energy balance. Pressure gradient can also be obtained from the Ergun equation with adjustable constants. The model correctly captures the effect of superficial gas velocity, superficial liquid velocity and bubble diameter on the variation of the gas holdup along the froth height. The predictions of the model are in agreement with the experimental data from the literature.     

Effect of machining parameters and cutting edge geometry on surface integrity of high-speed turned Inconel 718

Stringent control on the quality of machined surface and sub-surface during high-speed machining of Inconel 718 is necessary so as to achieve components with greater reliability and longevity. This paper extends the present trend prevailing in the literature on surface integrity analysis of superalloys by performing a comprehensive investigation to analyze the nature of deformation beneath the machined surface and arrive at the thickness of machining affected zone (MAZ). The residual stress analysis, microhardness measurements and degree of work hardening in the machined sub-surfaces were used as criteria to obtain the optimum machining conditions that give machined surfaces with high integrity. It is observed that the highest cutting speed, the lowest feedrate, and the moderate depth of cut coupled with the use of honed cutting edge can ensure induction of compressive residual stresses in the machined surfaces, which in turn were found to be free of smeared areas and adhered chip particles.     

Optical Diagnostics Study of Gas Particle Transport Phenomena in Cold Gas Dynamic Spraying and Comparison with Model Predictions

Cold gas dynamic spraying (CGDS), a relatively new thermal spraying technique has drawn a lot of attention due to its inherent capability to deposit a wide range of materials at relatively low-operating temperatures. A De Laval nozzle, used to accelerate the powder particles, is the key component of the coating equipment. Knowledge concerning the nozzle design and effect of process parameters is essential to understand the coating process and to enable selection of appropriate parameters for enhanced coating properties. The present work employs a one-dimensional isentropic gas flow model in conjunction with a particle acceleration model to calculate particle velocities. A laser illumination-based optical diagnostic system is used for validation studies to determine the particle velocity at the nozzle exit for a wide range of process and feedstock parameters such as stagnation temperature, stagnation pressure, powder feed rate, particle size and density. The relative influence of process and feedstock parameters on particle velocity is presented in this work.     

Selected physical characteristics of polystyrene/high density polyethylene composites prepared from virgin and recycled materials

Mixtures of polystyrene and high density polyethylene were injection molded from recycled and virgin polymers to generate cocontinuous structures. The mechanical properties of these blends were evaluated to assess their conformance to rule of mixtures behavior in general and to identify areas of synergy or incompatibility in specific. Flexural and tensile data for recycled blends showed that generally the properties are not additive, except in a cocontinuous region of composition near 35/65 PS/HDPE that has been identified previously for recycled materials. Analysis of crystallinity in the HDPE phase of these blends by differential scanning calorimetry indicates a marked reduction in the level of HDPE crystallinity at the 35/65 PS/HDPE composition. Similar blends of virgin PS/HDPE polymer do not show the differing regions of incompatibility and synergy illustrated by the recycled materials, but rather show approximate conformance to the rule of mixtures. Furthermore, the virgin blends show virtually no crystallinity suppression and a more pronounced T_g shift in the polystyrene compared to recycled materials. Detailed characterization of the recycled materials in terms of polymer and particulate impurities should improve understanding of these differences and perhaps provide direction for obtaining enhanced synergistic behavior in virgin polymer blends. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006     

Modeling heat and degree of gelation for methyl cellulose hydrogels with NaCl additives

Methyl cellulose (MC) hydrogels are thermoreversible physical hydrogels and their gelation is an endothermic process. A model consisting of a generalized expression for two bell‐shape curves was formulated to describe and capture enthalpy changes that take place during the gelation of an aqueous solution of MC, SM4000, in the presence of sodium chloride, NaCl, in different concentrations. The procedure followed in obtaining the necessary constants for the model using the differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) measurements is elaborated. The developed model described the salt‐out effects of NaCl in various % on the MC gelation very well. One of the two bell‐shape curves mapped most part of the DSC thermograms. The secondary bell‐shape curves portrayed the minor enthalpy changes. The possible mechanisms and molecular bonding processes driven by the energy represented by the area under these two individual curves are discussed. Subsequently, a sigmoidal growth model for the degree of gelation was introduced, and its development is explained in the paper. The import of various constants for these two models, the bell‐shape curves and the sigmoidal growth models, in terms of gelation kinetics is identified. The need for a specific term of the sigmoidal model for depicting the effect of the salt additive onto the gelation is recognized. The comparison between the results obtained using these two models is discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1620–1629, 2006     

An analytical model to predict specific shear energy in high-speed turning of Inconel 718

Machining of Inconel 718 at higher cutting speeds is expected to provide some relief from the machining difficulties. Therefore, to understand the material behavior at higher cutting speeds, this paper presents an analytical model that predicts specific shearing energy of the work material in shear zone. It considers formation of shear bands that occur at higher cutting speeds during machining, along with the elaborate evaluation of the effect of strain, strain rate, and temperature dependence of the shear flow stress using Johnson–Cook equation. The model also considers the ‘size-effect’ in machining in terms of occurrence of ‘ploughing forces’ during machining. The theoretical results show that the shear band spacing in chip formation increases linearly with an increase in the feedrate and is of the order of 0.2–0.9 mm depending upon the processing conditions. The model shows excellent agreement with the experimental values with an error between 0.5% and 7% for various parametric conditions.     

Mechanistic origins of multi-scale reinforcements in segmented polyurethane-clay nanocomposites

The objective of the present work is to get insights into the mechanistic origin of the reinforcement effects of nanoclay on a segmented polybutadiene polyurethane-urea system. To this end, a convergent analysis of the hard domain morphology and conformational state of soft segment in the nanocomposites was carried out by using a combination of complementary characterization techniques, namely, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, small angle neutron scattering, transmission electron microscopy, modulated differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. Analysis of small angle neutron scattering data by a combination of Percus–Yevick hard sphere and Zernike-Ornstein model coupled with direct visualization of the dispersed hard domain morphology from transmission electron microscopy provided insight on clay induced changes in the hard domain morphology. A monotonic decrease in the domain size as well as the average interdomain distance was observed with increasing nanoclay content in the polymer matrix. Analysis of the carbonyl stretching region from FTIR showed increased degree of hydrogen bonding for the urethane carbonyl groups of the nanocomposites compared to the neat matrix. A combination of calorimetric and dynamic mechanical analysis revealed the existence of a constrained amorphous region; quantified to be ≈ 16% at the highest clay content experimented. The manifestation of these morphological and conformational changes on the nano-, micro- and macro scale reinforcements in the nanocomposites was investigated by mechanical properties at these length scales using nanoindentation, DMA and tensile testing, respectively.     

Flow and temperature patterns in an inductively coupled plasma reactor: Experimental measurements and CFD simulations

Measurements of temperature patterns in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) have been carried out experimentally. Plasma torch was operated at different RF powers in the range of 3–14 kW at near atmospheric pressure and over a wide range of sheath gas flow rate (3–25 lpm). Measurements were made at five different axial positions in ICP torch. The chordal intensities were converted into a radial intensity profile by Abel Inversion technique. Typical radial temperature profile shows an off‐axis temperature peak, which shifts toward the wall as the power increases. Temperatures in the range of 6000–14,000 K were recorded by this method. The temperature profiles in the plasma reactor were simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A good agreement was found between the CFD predictions of the flow and temperature pattern with those published in the literature as well as the temperature profiles measured in the present work. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 3647–3664, 2014     

Drug‐loaded polyurethane/clay nanocomposite nanofibers for topical drug‐delivery application

In this study, polyurethane/nanoclay nanocomposite nanofibrous webs were prepared by electrospinning. An antiseptic drug, chlorhexidine acetate (CA), was loaded onto montmorillonite clay and was then incorporated into polyurethane nanofibers. For comparison, the CA drug was loaded directly into the polyurethane solution dope used to electrospin the nanofibers. The emphasis was on investigating the effect of the drug loading into the nanoclay vis‐à‐vis direct drug loading on the drug‐release behavior of nanofibrous webs. The nanofibrous webs were also evaluated for other properties, such as moisture vapor transmission, porosity determination, contact angle measurement, and antibacterial activity, which are important for topical drug‐delivery application. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40230.