Interfacial Tension; a Stabilizing Factor for Janus Emulsions of Silicone Bixa Orellana Oils

The destabilization process was investigated for a Janus emulsion of silicone and Bixa Orellana oils stabilized by polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate (Tw 80) and carboxymethyl cellulose. The emulsion stabilized with Tw 80 showed significant and fast creaming, a process that was prevented by the addition of the polymer. During the extensive coalescence of the emulsions stabilized by Tw 80, the Janus topology was retained for months of storage until, finally, separation of the oils occurred. This result strongly indicates an unexpected stabilizing action of the i nterfacial free energy. This conclusion was supported by a calculation for a realistic model system of the interfacial energy difference between two cases of coalescence. In the first case, the two coalescing Janus drops united into a larger Janus drop, while in the second case two drops formed, each with only one oil. The first case gave a spontaneous reaction (reduced interfacial energy), while the second one meant an increase of energy, i.e. it cannot happen without adding energy. The authors are aware that this stabilization is a new phenomenon in emulsion science with potential ramifications in future emulsion technology. However, it is essential to realize that the stabilization is of temporary occurrence in the destabilization process, and the free energy to give a final emulsion state with separated oils is overwhelmingly dominant. In short, Janus emulsions will, in the end, separate into layers of the liquids, like all emulsions.     

Exploring residential satisfaction in shrinking cities: a decision-tree approach

The number of cities experiencing population decline has been increasing worldwide. Despite the existence of theoretical propositions of shrinkage as an opportunity to increase levels of residential satisfaction, the issue has not been addressed empirically. This article contributes to fill this gap by assessing, through survey, the residential satisfaction of inhabitants of four shrinking Portuguese cities.

Data were analysed by means of a tree-decision approach: the Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection analysis. A sense of safety is the feature that best discriminates inhabitants’ level of residential satisfaction. The results show that shrinkage due to deindustrialisation processes is detrimental to residential satisfaction.     

Optimization of Lithium Extraction from Lepidolite by Roasting Using Sodium and Calcium Sulfates

The lithium extraction from a lepidolite concentrate using roasting, followed by water leaching, was studied. Several alternative additives were initially tested. The use of sodium and calcium sulfates as additives was evaluated in more detail. The influence of some process variables, namely the roasting time, roasting temperature and the additive/concentrate mass ratio, was studied applying a design of experiments. The lithium extraction was modelled and the fitted and validated model was used to optimize the process response. The increase in the additive/concentrate mass ratio, roasting time and temperature seems to result in solid state reactions and transformations that lead to phase, morphological and particle size distribution modifications, which were assessed by XRPD, SEM, and particle size analyses. In this process, lithium sodium sulfate formation constitutes a crucial step enabling the Li water leaching. High lithium extractions were estimated for several combinations of factors. At 850°C, lithium extractions over 90% are obtained when the roasting time is above 1.90 hour and the additive/concentrate mass ratios are over 0.77. An increase in the temperature to 875°C also leads to lithium extractions over 90% for a roasting time of 1 hour and an additive/concentrate mass ratio of 0.60.     

Precursor system of liquid crystalline phase containing propolis microparticles for the treatment of periodontal disease: development and characterization

Precursor systems of liquid crystalline phase were prepared using the surfactant PPG-5-Ceteth-20, isopropyl myristate, and water; gelatin microparticles containing propolis were then added into these systems. Homogeneity of dispersion, the in-system microparticle morphology, and sedimentation behavior of each formulation were evaluated. The rheological and mechanical properties (hardness, compressibility, and adhesiveness), the work of syringing, and the propolis release profile were also evaluated. All the formulations exhibited pseudoplastic flow and thixotropy, and they displayed storage modulus, loss modulus, dynamic viscosity, and loss tangent that depended on temperature, frequency, and composition. Mechanical properties varied significantly among the formulations being affected by changes in the composition and temperature. Raising the concentration of surfactant and adding propolis microparticles significantly decreased the work of syringing. The drug release was non-Fickian (anomalous) and there was no significant difference between the tested systems in the times required for 10%, 30%, and 50% release of the initial drug loading.     

An unsupervised approach for fault diagnosis of power transformers

Electrical utilities apply condition monitoring on power transformers (PTs) to prevent unplanned outages and detect incipient faults. This monitoring is often done using dissolved gas analysis (DGA) coupled with engineering methods to interpret the data, however the obtained results lack accuracy and reproducibility. In order to improve accuracy, various advanced analytical methods have been proposed in the literature. Nonetheless, these methods are often hard to interpret by the decision-maker and require a substantial amount of failure records to be trained. In the context of the PTs, failure data quality is recurrently questionable, and failure records are scarce when compared to nonfailure records. This work tackles these challenges by proposing a novel unsupervised methodology for diagnosing PT condition. Differently from the supervised approaches in the literature, our method does not require the labeling of DGA records and incorporates a visual representation of the results in a 2D scatter plot to assist in interpretation. A modified clustering technique is used to classify the condition of different PTs using historical DGA data. Finally, well-known engineering methods are applied to interpret each of the obtained clusters. The approach was validated using data from two different real-world data sets provided by a generation company and a distribution system operator. The results highlight the advantages of the proposed approach and outperformed engineering methods (from IEC and IEEE standards) and companies legacy method. The approach was also validated on the public IEC TC10 database, showing the capability to achieve comparable accuracy with supervised learning methods from the literature. As a result of the methodology performance, both companies are currently using it in their daily DGA diagnosis.     

The effect of different cementing strategies and adhesive interface aging on microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of lithium disilicate ceramics to dentin

This study evaluated the effect of different cementing strategies and adhesive interface aging on microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of lithium disilicate ceramic (IPS e.max CAD) to dentin. Forty coronal dentin fragments were randomly assigned to four groups according to the cementing strategy used to bond lithium disilicate ceramic to coronal dentin surface (n = 10): U200 (self-adhesive resin cement (RC) RelyX U200®/3 M ESPE), SBU (single-step self-etching adhesive system (AS) Single Bond Universal®/3 M ESPE + RelyX ARC®/3 M ESPE RC), AdperSB (two-step etch-and-rinse AS Single Bond 2®/3 M + RelyX ARC®/3 M ESPE RC) and Scotchbond (three-step etch-and-rinse AS Scotchbond Multi-Purpose®/3 M + RelyX ARC®/3 M RC). After 48 h, the ceramic-tooth blocks were sectioned perpendicular to the adhesive interface in the form of sticks and randomly subdivided into two groups according to when they were to be submitted to μTBS testing: immediately or 6 months after storage in water. Some sticks were kept for analysis of the adhesive interface by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The μTBS test was performed in a universal testing machine (0.5 mm/min). The data (MPa) were analyzed using split-plot ANOVA and Tukey’s test (α = 0.05). Water storage decreased μTBS in all cementing strategies. The μTBS was greatest in the Scotchbond group and lowest in the U200 group, at both storage times. No signs of interface degradation were detected under SEM after water storage. In conclusion, water storage decreased bond strength, regardless of the adhesive cementation strategy, and that the three-step adhesive system/dual-cure resin cement ultimately performed better in terms of bond strength.     

Spontaneous copolymerization of 2-phenyl-2-oxazoline with cyclic carboxylic anhydrides

Summary The copolymers obtained by the spontaneous reaction between 2-phenyl-2-oxazoline (PhOx) and different anhydrides (succinic-SA, maleic-MA and phthalic-PA) in the absence of an added initiator have been studied. The copolymers were characterized by FTIR and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopies. Compositions were determined by quantitative elemental analysis and average molecular weights were obtained by GPC. The PhOx/MA and PhOx/PA were found to be alternating copolymers, whereas the PhOx/SA copolymer was a statistical one, rich in PhOx.     

Postcoital vaginal bleeding as a risk factor for transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus in a heterosexual partner study in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro Heterosexual Study Group

The partition coefficients P between n-octanol and water of pyridoxal isonicotinoyl hydrazone and 34 analogues have been determined experimentally; the values indicate that the partition coefficients calculated for these compounds, and previously reported (P. Ponka, D.R. Richardson, J.T. Edward, and F.L. Chubb. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 72: 659-666. 1994; D.R. Richardson, E.H. Tran, and P. Ponka. Blood, 86: 4294-4306. 1994), are too low by 2-3 orders of magnitude. The calculations, using Rekker's additive method, failed because the molecules have two or more hydrophilic sites close together. More recent additive schemes (CLOGP, KOWWIN, ACD/LogP) also failed. The only reliable method was the semi-empirical method of Hansch. This requires the experimental determination of the partition coefficient of at least one representative in each series of compounds of related structure. In the present paper, determination of log P of three representatives enabled us to calculate the partition coefficients of the other 32 compounds with acceptable accuracy. The new results show that apochelators have maximum activity in releasing 59Fe from reticulocytes when they have log P = 2.8 (P = 630), and not log P = 0 (P = 1), as reported by Ponka et al. (P. Ponka, D.R Richardson, J.T. Edward, and F.L Chubb. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 72: 659-666 1994).     

Variations in white blood count, thromboxane B2 levels and hematocrit in chronic venous hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To analyze variations in leukocyte count and thromboxane B2 production in the femoral vein of patients with chronic venous hypertension (CVH). DESIGN: Prospective clinical study, controlled, non randomized and open. LOCATION: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de S?o Paulo, referral center, university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 15 patients with recurring stasis ulcer were analyzed, selected randomly from the venous diseases outpatient center, and 4 without lower limb venous alterations were also analyzed. INTERVENTION: Blood samples from the femoral and brachial veins were drawn following supine and 45 degrees reverse Trendelenburg. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Direct leukocyte count and analysis of the thromboxane B2 with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay test. RESULTS: After 30 minutes in reverse Trendelenburg, patients with CVH showed a leukocyte count reduced by +/- 27% (p = 0.02) and thromboxane B2 levels increased by +/- 158% (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that future studies of medications for stasis ulcers include their effects on leukocyte entrapment and thromboxane B2 production in the lower limb venous system.