Formulating Pantone colors by unused base inks,formulation software,and a spectrophotometer

Unused base inks that are not going to be used for printing production are considered to be hazardous materials. Their disposal is expensive, and strict environmental regulations should be followed for their disposal. As an alternative, this article describes how spectral data of unused base inks can be gathered and mixed to generate new colors to incorporate them back to print production for small‐volume jobs. In this study, 30 different Pantone colors were selected as target colors. The CIE L*a*b* spectral data of Pantone colors and unused base inks were gathered via a spectrophotometer. A commercial formulation software, based on multiflux theory and CIE L*a*b* color space, was used to formulate ink recipes that contained the base inks. To quantify the performance of ink recipes, they were mixed and printed using an offset printability tester. The CIELAB ΔE*_ab metric, developed by CIE, was used to detect the visual differences between the target Pantone Color and printed colors.     

Current status and future trends for disposable technology in the biopharmaceutical industry

Single use technology (SUT) is in widespread use throughout the biopharmaceutical industry where it is replacing traditional stainless steel plant particularly for the manufacture of small volume, high value products. The key drivers for SUT uptake include reduction of regulatory risk, lower capital and energy costs and increased facility flexibility. Disposable technology is now well established for cell culture, liquid handling and storage but its application to some downstream operations is proving more intractable. Single‐use chromatography resins are generally uneconomic at process scale and there are limitations on large‐scale tangential flow filtration capacities. The development of disposable sensor technology is lagging behind that of bioreactors and capacities for microbial culture are presently limited to 2000 litres. Concerns regarding compatibility of equipment from different suppliers and extractable and leachable testing are being addressed but continue to influence uptake of SUT by traditional manufacturers. Complete ‘plug and play’ disposable process trains, however, are becoming increasingly available and are being embraced by Contract Manufacturing Organisations (CMOs) with multiproduct facilities. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Investigation of NCN and prompt-NO formation in low-pressure C1–C4 alkane flames

Temperature, CH, NCN, and NO profiles were measured for eight low-pressure hydrocarbon flames fueled by methane, ethane, propane, and butane using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) diagnostics. These measurements were used (1) to assess NCN and prompt-NO formation chemistry across a series of fuels of increasing number of carbons at different equivalence ratios (? = 1.07 and 1.28); (2) to examine the predictive capabilities of current C1–C4 hydrocarbon and NCN formation/consumption combustion mechanisms on properly capturing prompt-NO formation and (3) to examine the postulation that additional prompt-NO precursors (other than CH) exist for fuels larger than methane. For a given equivalence ratio, the measured peak CH concentration is fairly constant across all four fuels, while both the peak NCN and post-flame NO concentrations steadily increase. Furthermore, it is found that as the fuels increase in number of carbons, i.e., methane to butane, the correlation between the peak NCN and post-flame NO remains high, while the correlation between peak CH and peak NCN and peak CH and post-flame NO becomes increasingly lower. This is especially evident for rich flame cases. The experimental profiles are compared to numerical calculations using two comprehensive kinetic mechanisms suitable for C4 chemistry, where the CH + N₂ → NCN + H reaction is assumed as the only prompt-NO initiation reaction. For the ? = 1.28 flame cases, CH is over-predicted using both mechanisms for all four fuels and by as much as 60%, while for the ? = 1.07 cases, CH is predicted to within 15% of the experimentally-derived results, although there is some discrepancy concerning the spatial locations of the CH profiles. For both NCN and NO, there is an increasing under-prediction for the ? = 1.28 cases as the fuel increases in number of carbons, while for the ? = 1.07 cases there is a systematic under-prediction of NCN and NO with a weaker (although evident) fuel dependence. From the experimental results and the comparison to modeling predictions, it is apparent that additional work concerning CH formation and consumption kinetics is necessary to accurately capture the CH concentration profiles across a broad range of conditions. Furthermore the comparisons to the modeling predictions using only a single prompt-NO precursor, CH, indicate a reasonable plausibility that (an) additional prompt-NO precursor (s) exist and become important when considering fuels larger than methane, especially under rich flame conditions. Possible precursors in addition to CH are discussed.     

Hydrothermal catalytic production of fuels and chemicals from aquatic biomass

One of the promising avenues for biomass processing is the use of water as a reaction medium for wet or aquatic biomass. This review focuses on the hydrothermal catalytic production of fuels and chemicals from aquatic biomass. Two different regimes for conversion of aquatic biomass in hydrothermal conditions are discussed in detail. The first is hydrothermal liquefaction, and the second is hydrothermal gasification. The goals of these processes are to produce liquid‐fuel‐range hydrocarbons and methane or hydrogen, respectively. The catalytic upgrading of biocrude resulting from noncatalytic liquefaction and the stability and degradation of catalysts in high temperature water are also discussed. The review concludes with a brief discussion of the outlook for and opportunities within the field of hydrothermal catalytic valorization of biomass. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

A stress-coping profile of opioid dependent individuals entering naltrexone treatment: A comparison with healthy controls.

Background: Stress is known to increase addiction vulnerability and risk of relapse to substance use. Purpose & Method: We compared opioid dependent individuals entering naltrexone treatment (n = 57) with healthy controls (n = 75) on measures of stress, coping, and social support and examined the relative contribution of group membership, coping, and social support to stress within the sample. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) and covariance (ANCOVA), and stepwise multiple regression were conducted. Results: Compared with controls, opioid dependent subjects reported greater stress, less use of adaptive coping, but comparable use of maladaptive/avoidant coping. No group differences were found with respect to social support. Perceived stress was predicted by group membership, low social support, and greater use of maladaptive/avoidant coping, and the prediction by social support and maladaptive/avoidant coping did not differ by group. Conclusion: Opioid dependent individuals entering naltrexone treatment experience higher levels of stress and report less use of adaptive coping strategies when compared with controls. Group membership, maladaptive/avoidant coping, and social support independently contribute to perceived stress. Findings suggest that novel treatment approaches that decrease maladaptive/avoidant coping and improve social support are important aspects of decreasing stress during early recovery from opioid addiction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passive acoustic emissions from particulates in a V-blender

Context: Regulatory agencies are recommending the development of process analytical technologies (PAT) to improve the efficiency and product quality during pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Objective: The objective of the research was to investigate the potential application of passive acoustic emission monitoring of a V-blender.

Materials and methods: Trials were conducted with sugar spheres, lactose or MCC in a V-blender. Vibrations from acoustic emissions were measured using PCB Piezotronics accelerometers with ICP signal conditioners.

Results and discussion: A wavelet filter was applied to the measured acoustic emissions to remove vibrations from the tumbling motion of the V-shell, allowing a focus on information about particle motion and interactions within the V-shell. The ideal sensor location was determined to be the lid of one of the V-shell arms due to the impact of the tumbling particles on the lid and transmission of the vibrations from other particle motion within the V-shell. The amplitude of vibrations increased with particle size due to larger particle momentum before a collision. The fill level and the V-shell scale also influenced the measured vibrations as particle motion was affected which in turn affected momentum. Changes in particle flowability could be detected through variations in the measured acoustic emissions.

Conclusion: The measured vibrations from passive acoustic emissions reflected particle motion and interactions within a V-blender demonstrating potential as a monitoring method.     

Cross-Omics Analysis of Fenugreek Supplementation Reveals Beneficial Effects Are Caused by Gut Microbiome Changes Not Mammalian Host Physiology

Herbal remedies are increasing in popularity as treatments for metabolic conditions such as obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. One potential therapeutic option is fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum), which have been used for treating high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes. A proposed mechanism for these benefits is through alterations in the microbiome, which impact mammalian host metabolic function. This study used untargeted metabolomics to investigate the fenugreek-induced alterations in the intestinal, liver, and serum profiles of mice fed either a 60% high-fat or low-fat control diet each with or without fenugreek supplementation (2% w/w) for 14 weeks. Metagenomic analyses of intestinal contents found significant alterations in the relative composition of the gut microbiome resulting from fenugreek supplementation. Specifically, Verrucomicrobia, a phylum containing beneficial bacteria which are correlated with health benefits, increased in relative abundance with fenugreek. Metabolomics partial least squares discriminant analysis revealed substantial fenugreek-induced changes in the large intestines. However, it was observed that while the magnitude of changes was less, significant modifications were present in the liver tissues resulting from fenugreek supplementation. Further analyses revealed metabolic processes affected by fenugreek and showed broad ranging impacts in multiple pathways, including carnitine biosynthesis, cholesterol and bile acid metabolism, and arginine biosynthesis. These pathways may play important roles in the beneficial effects of fenugreek.