Synthesis and characterization of novel anti-inflammatory poly(spiro thiazolidinone)s

A new series of spirothiazolidinone polymers has been accomplished by solution polycondensation of 4,12-dioxa-1,9-dithiadispiro[4.2.4.2]tetradecane-3,11-dione (3) with different aliphatic and aromatic diamines. A model compound 4 was prepared by the reaction of spiro-monomer 3 with benzyl amine and was characterized by elemental and spectral analyses. These polymers were characterized by elemental and spectral analyses. The thermal properties of these polymers were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis measurements. The morphological properties of selected polymers 5c and 5e were tested using scanning electron microscope to study their surface morphology. The molar masses of polymers 5a, 5b, and 5d were determined by gel permeation chromatography. In addition, the anti-inflammatory activities were studied for these spiro-polymers in comparison with the model compound by determination in vivo using acute carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats.     

Investigation of concrete encased steel composite columns at elevated temperatures

This paper presents a nonlinear 3-D finite element model investigating the behaviour of concrete encased steel composite columns at elevated temperatures. The composite columns were pin-ended axially loaded columns having different cross-sectional dimensions, different structural steel sections, different coarse aggregates and different load ratios during fire. The nonlinear material properties of steel, concrete, longitudinal and transverse reinforcement bars as well as the effect of concrete confinement at ambient and elevated temperatures were considered in the finite element models. The interface between the steel section and concrete, the longitudinal and transverse reinforcement bars, and the reinforcement bars and concrete were also considered allowing the bond behaviour to be modelled and the different components to retain its profile during the deformation of the column. The initial overall (out-of-straightness) geometric imperfection was carefully included in the model. The finite element model has been validated against published tests conducted at elevated temperatures. The time–temperature relationships, deformed shapes at failure, time–axial displacement relationships, failure modes and fire resistances of the columns were evaluated by the finite element model. It has been shown that the finite element model can accurately predict the behaviour of the columns at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, the variables that influence the fire resistance and behaviour of the composite columns comprising different load ratios during fire, different coarse aggregates and different slenderness ratios were investigated in parametric studies. It is shown that the fire resistance of the columns generally increases with the decrease in the column slenderness ratio as well as the increase in the structural steel ratio. It is also shown that the time–axial displacement relationship is considerably affected by the coarse aggregate. The fire resistances of the composite columns obtained from the finite element analyses were compared with the design values obtained from the Eurocode 4 for composite columns at elevated temperatures. It is shown that the EC4 is conservative for all the concrete encased steel composite columns, except for the columns having a load ratio of 0.5 as well as the columns having a slenderness ratio of 0.69 and a load ratio of 0.4.     

The inhibition effect of 2,4,6-tris (2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine on corrosion of tin, indium and tin-indium alloys in hydrochloric acid solution

The influence of 2,4,6-tris (2-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (TPTZ) on the corrosion of tin, indium and tin-indium alloys in 0.5 M HCl solution at different temperatures was studied. Potentiodynamic cathodic polarization and extrapolation of cathodic and anodic Tafel lines techniques were used to obtained experimental data. In the case of tin, the percent inhibition efficiency (IE%) increases as both concentration of TPTZ and temperature are increased. The value of activation energy (E_a) is smaller in the presence of TPTZ than that in uninhibited solution, and decreases with increasing the concentration. However, the effect of TPTZ on indium and the investigated alloys exhibited similar behavior; so, the maximum inhibition efficiency is observed at lowest concentration (10⁻⁶ M) of TPTZ. Then, the value of inhibition efficiency starts to decrease gradually with increasing TPTZ concentration than that of 10⁻⁶ M. But at higher concentration (10⁻³ M) the corrosion current density (I_corr) is still lower than that in uninhibited solution. SEM photographs support that the higher inhibition efficiency is observed at 10⁻⁶ M of TPTZ.The plots of ln K versus 1/T in the presence of the TPTZ in the case of tin, the inhibitor showed linear behavior. The standard enthalpy, ΔH°_ads., entropy, ΔS°_ads. and free energy changes of adsorption ΔG°_ads. were evaluated using Frumkin adsorption isotherm.     

Construction and Testing of an Innovative Concrete Bridge Deck Totally Reinforced with Glass FRP Bars: Val-Alain Bridge on Highway 20 East

The Val-Alain Bridge, located in the Municipality of Val-Alain on Highway 20 East, crosses over Henri River in Québec, Canada. The bridge is a slab-on-girder type with a skew angle of 20° over a single span of 49.89?m and a total width of 12.57?m. The bridge has four simply supported steel girders spaced at 3,145?mm. The deck slab is a 225-mm-thick concrete slab, with semi-integral abutments, continuous over the steel girders with an overhang of 1,570?mm on each side. The concrete deck slab and the bridge barriers were reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcing bars utilizing high-performance concrete. The Val-Alain Bridge is the Canada’s first concrete bridge deck totally reinforced with GFRP reinforcing bars. Using such nonmetallic reinforcement in combination with high-performance concrete leads to an expected service life of more than 75?years. The bridge is well instrumented with electrical resistance strain gauges and fiber-optic sensors at critical locations to record internal strain data. Also, the bridge was tested for service performance using calibrated truckloads. Design concepts, construction details, and results of the first series of live load field tests are presented.     

Designing and Testing of Concrete Bridge Decks Reinforced with Glass FRP Bars

In addition to their high strength and light weight, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite reinforcing bars offer corrosion resistance, making them a promising alternative to traditional steel reinforcing bars in concrete bridge decks. FRP reinforcement has been used in several bridge decks recently constructed in North America. The Morristown Bridge, which is located in Vermont, United States, is a single span steel girder bridge with integral abutments spanning 43.90 m. The deck is a 230 mm thick concrete continuous slab over girders spaced at 2.36 m. The entire concrete deck slab was reinforced with glass FRP (GFRP) bars in two identical layers at the top and the bottom. The bridge is well instrumented at critical locations for internal temperature and strain data collection with fiber-optic sensors. The bridge was tested for service performance using standard truck loads. The construction procedure and field test results under actual service conditions revealed that GFRP rebar provides very good and promising performance.     

Ethanol selectively counteracts hypotension evoked by central I(1)-imidazoline but not alpha2-adrenergic receptor activation in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Novel temperature-sensitive liposomes having surface properties that can be controlled by temperature were designed as liposomes coated with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), which exhibits a hydrated coil to dehydrated globule transition at ca. 32 degrees C. To obtain the polymer with anchoring groups to the liposome, a copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide and octadecyl acrylate (99:1, mol/mol) was synthesized by radical copolymerization. The copolymer revealed the transition near 30 degrees C. Liposomes made from various phospholipids were prepared by sonication and coated with the copolymer. When dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and distearoylphosphatidylcholine were used as liposome lipids, remarkable aggregation and fusion of the copolymer-modified liposomes took place between the transition temperature of the copolymer and the gel-liquid-crystalline transition temperature (Tc) of the lipid membranes. However, above the Tc, association between the liposomes was much less significant, although the copolymer is still hydrophobic. In the case of the copolymer-modified dilauroylphosphatidylcholine liposome, the membrane of which takes on a liquid-crystalline state under the experimental conditions, association between the liposomes also hardly occurred even when the copolymer became hydrophobic. On the other hand, below the transition temperature of the copolymer, the copolymer-modified liposomes were very stable and aggregation of the liposomes was not observed, irrespective of membrane lipid. Results obtained in this study demonstrate that the copolymer chains fixed on the surface of the liposome with a solid membrane promote aggregation and fusion of the liposomes by hydrophobic interactions between the copolymer chains and/or between the copolymer chains and the liposome membranes above the transition temperature of the copolymer.     

Field Investigation on the First Bridge Deck Slab Reinforced with Glass FRP Bars Constructed in Canada

Recently, there has been a rapid increase in using noncorrosive fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) reinforcing bars as alternative reinforcement for bridge deck slabs, especially those in harsh environments. A new two-span girder type bridge, Cookshire-Eaton Bridge (located in the municipality of Cookshire, Quebec, Canada), was constructed with a total length of 52.08 m over two equal spans. The deck was a 200-mm-thick concrete slab continuous over four spans of 2.70 m between girders with an overhang of 1.40 m on each side. One full span of the bridge was totally reinforced using glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars, while the other span was reinforced with galvanized steel bars. The bridge deck was well instrumented at critical locations for internal temperature and strain data collection using fiber optic sensors. The bridge was tested for service performance using calibrated truckloads as specified by the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code. The construction procedure and field test results under actual service conditions revealed that GFRP rebar provides very competitive performance in comparison to steel.     

Synthesis and antioxidant activities of some novel fluorinated spiro[oxindole-thiazolidine] fused with sulfur and phosphorus heterocycles

Facile routes were achieved for the synthesis of novel fluorinated spiro[oxindole-thiazolidinone] fused with some sulfur and phosphorus heterocycles starting from 5-fluoro-3^′-(4-fluorophenyl)-4^′H-spiro[indole-3,2^′-thiazolidine]-2,4^′(1H)-dione (1) via its reaction with trifluoroacetamide, 2-chloro-6-fluorobenzaldehyde and hydrazine hydrate followed by treatment with some suitable sulfur and phosphorus reagents. The antioxidant activities of the synthesized compounds were also evaluated.     

A Novel Way To Radiolabel Human Butyrylcholinesterase for Positron Emission Tomography through Irreversible Transfer of the Radiolabeled Moiety

The enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is known to be involved in the detoxification of xenobiotics in blood plasma and is associated with the progress of neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes type 2, obesity, and diseases of the cardiovascular system. In the present study, we developed carbamate‐based inhibitors serving as positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers with ¹⁸F and ¹¹C as radioisotopes to visualize BChE distribution. These inhibitors are radiolabeled at the carbamate site and transfer this moiety onto BChE, which thus results in covalent and permanent radiolabeling of the enzyme. There are no comparable radiotracers for cholinesterases described to date. By ex vivo autoradiography experiments on mice brain slices and kinetic investigations, selective and covalent transfer of the radiolabeled carbamate moiety onto BChE was proven. These tracers might provide high resolution of BChE distribution in vivo to enable investigations into the pathophysiological mechanisms of diseases associated with alterations in BChE occurrence.     

Construction and performance characteristics of a metformin electrode based on the metformin phosphotungstate ion-associate

A new metformin (Mf) ion selective PVC membrane electrode based on the ion-associate of Mf with phosphotungstic acid was prepared. The electrode exhibited a mean calibration graph slope of 58 mV Mf concentration decade^?1, at 25°C, within the concentration range 2·0 × 10^?5?1·0 × 10^?2 M MfCl. The change of pH within the range 4·0–11·0 did not affect the electrode performance. The standard electrode potentials were determined at different temperatures and used to calculate the isothermal coefficient of the electrode (0.000352 V°C^?1). The electrode showed a very good selectivity for Mf with respect to a large number of inorganic and organic cations. The standard addition method and potentiometric titration were applied to determine Mf in pure solutions and in metformin-containing tablets.