A designed organic–zeolite hybrid acid–base catalyst

An organic–zeolite hybrid catalyst was synthesised via solid-state impregnation of the zeolite with an amount of melamine corresponding to 20 mol% of the aluminium content. A high density of basic sites is formed in the zeolite. From infrared spectroscopy and TGA measurements we infer that melaminium cations are formed in the zeolite which are highly thermally stable. IR spectroscopic and TGA measurements showed the presence of melaminium after pre-treatment in vacuum at 450 °C. The catalyst exhibited activity in the Knoevenagel condensation reaction between benzaldehyde and ethyl cyanoacetate which is suggested to be promoted by the presence of acid and base sites. The catalyst activity was compared with other known base catalysts including hydrotalcites and magnesium oxide on alumina support.     

The impact of salt reduction in bread: a review

The dietary intake of sodium chloride has increased considerably over the last few decades due to changes in the human diet. This higher intake has been linked to a number of diseases including hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. Numerous international health agencies, as well as the food industry, have now recommended a salt intake level of about 5-6 g daily, approximately half the average current daily intake level. Cereal products, and in particular bread, are a major source of salt in the diet. Therefore, any reduction in the level of salt in bread would have a major impact on global health. However, salt is a critical ingredient in bread production, and its reduction can have a deleterious effect on the production process. This includes an impact on dough handling, as well as final bread quality characteristics, including shelf-life, bread volume, and sensory characteristics, all deviating from the expectations of bakers and consumers. This review describes the effect of salt reduction during bread production and the resulting problems, both technological and qualitative, as well as evaluating some techniques commonly used to replace sodium chloride.     

Thermal stability of SiC Schottky diode anode and cathode metalisations after 1000 h at 350 °C

The thermal stability of two commercially available silicon carbide Schottky diode types has been evaluated following a 1000 h non-biased storage test under vacuum at 350 °C. The Ti-based Schottky (Anode) contact shows excellent stability over the duration of the test with less than 5% change in either extracted Schottky barrier height or ideality values. The Al die attach metalisation on the anode also shows no evidence of degradation after the test. However, a considerable change in series resistance was observed for both diode types, with up to a factor of 100 measured for one of the diodes. The primary early failure mode is related to degradation of the NiAg Ohmic (cathode) die attach metalisation. Demixing of the NiAg alloy, leading to Ag agglomeration is proposed to be the underlying degradation mechanism involved resulting in delamination of the die attach metalisation and the corresponding series resistance increase.     

Does the rose still smell as sweet? Item variability across test forms and revisions.

This article examines item stability when the same item appears in different contexts. The 1st section considers the assumptions in classical test theory and item response theory concerning the relationship between the item and the trait it is presumed to measure. The 2nd section presents contextualist challenges to the measurement theory assumptions about item properties and shows the instability of item characteristics across different testing contexts. The 3rd section describes methods for checking the relationship between items and traits. Classical test methods, item response methods, and structural equation methods for assessing item stability are reviewed. The instability of item characteristics across contexts should caution researchers to assess, and not assume, that items operate the same way on different test versions. Item instability also indicates the need for a more detailed understanding of the psychological processes that occur between item and answer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enterococcal diversity in the environment of an Irish Cheddar-type cheesemaking factory.

Enterococci are natural residents of human and animal intestinal tracts and grow to high levels in a variety of artisanal cheeses. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity of enterococci in a farmhouse raw-milk cheese production unit. Putative enterococci were isolated from the faeces of all the cows and all the people associated with the cheesemaking, from the milk and cheese during manufacture and ripening and from the environment in three separate trials. Almost 1400 isolates were screened using a genus-specific primer. The results indicated that all the human, milk, curd and cheese isolates but only 33.7%, 6.7% and 4.4% of the bovine isolates from the three trials, respectively, were members of the genus Enterococcus. RAPD-PCR was used to type the enterococcal isolates. In general, only E. faecium was found in the bovine faeces while E. casseliflavus dominated the human faeces, milk and cheese followed by lower numbers of E. faecalis. Environmental sampling of the water in the milking parlour and rinses of the cows' teats, the bulk-milk storage tank and the milking machine corroborated these results as E. casseliflavus and E. faecalis were the only Enterococcus species found in these samples. The putative vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), isolated in Trial 1, were shown to be Pediococcus spp. by genotypic and phenotypic analysis.     

涂料行业的成本控制与多功能胺

在科技不断进步的今天,多功能性成为行业对涂料添加剂的基本诉求。多功能性使配方师使用一种产品,获得多种功效。     

Theragnostic Efficacy of K18 Response in Alcohol Use Disorder with Clinically Significant Fibrosis Using Gut-Liver Axis

(1) Background: Fibrosis in early-stage alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is commonly under-diagnosed in routine clinical practice. This study characterized the liver-injury and cell death response in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients with ALD who also exhibited fibrosis and assessed the efficacy of standard of care (SOC) treatment in the improvement in liver injury. (2) Methods: Forty-eight heavy-drinking AUD patients aged 21–65 yrs. without clinical manifestations of liver injury were grouped by Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score, as negative (Gr.1 < 1.45, n = 21) or positive (Gr.2 ≥ 1.45, n = 27). Patients received 2-weeks (2 w) inpatient SOC. Data on demographics, drinking patterns, liver-injury, immune markers, and liver cell death (K18s) markers were analyzed at baseline (BL) and after 2 w SOC. (3) Results: Lifetime drinking (LTDH, yrs.) and acute heavy drinking (Heavy Drinking Days Past 90 Days [HDD90]) markers were significantly higher in Gr.2 vs. Gr.1. BL ALT, AST, AST:ALT and K18M65 were considerably higher in Gr.2. Dysregulated gut dysfunction and elevated immune activity were evident in Gr.2 characterized by TNF-α, IL-8 and LPS levels. After SOC, Gr.2 showed improvement in AST, ALT, AST/ALT ratio; and in the K18M65, K18M30 and K18M65/M30 ratio vs. Gr.1. The true positivity of BL IL-8 response to predict the improvement in K18M65 to normal levels among Gr.2 patients against those who did not have improvement after 2 w SOC was very high (AUROC = 0.830, p = 0.042). (4) Conclusions: Gut dysfunction, elevated cytokine response and necrotic liver cell death were elevated in AUD patients with early-stage ALD. K18 showed promise as a predictive theragnostic factor to differentiate among the AUD patients with early-stage ALD and baseline fibrosis who had improvement in liver injury against those who did not, by the levels of baseline IL-8.     

Reactive spark plasma sintering of Cs-exchanged chabazite: characterisation and durability assessment for Fukushima Daiichi NPP clean-up

ABSTRACT

Ion-specific media (ISM) have played an integral role in the clean-up and remediation efforts at the Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster site, through the processing of contaminated wastewaters. The use of these materials generates a secondary nuclear waste stream, presenting its own series of engineering problems arising from stringent handling and long-term storage requirements. A reactive spark plasma sintering (SPS) method was investigated for conditioning of the spent cesium exchanged zeolite, chabazite. A natural form of the zeolite was used as an analogue to the engineered ISM used at the Fukushima NPP site. Simulant wasteforms were sintered using different temperature and pressure parameters followed by analysis of phase assemblage, density, and durability (using the product consistency test (PCT)). The results indicated that zeolite structure had collapsed completely, with the exchanged cesium partitioned primarily into a durable feldspar to assure stability of the sintered material for passively safe storage or geological disposal.     

Novel Neuroprotective Agents to Treat Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: Inter-Alpha Inhibitor Proteins

Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is a major cause of brain injury and mortality in neonates. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) predisposes infants to long-term cognitive deficits that influence their quality of life and place a large burden on society. The only approved treatment to protect the brain after HI is therapeutic hypothermia, which has limited effectiveness, a narrow therapeutic time window, and is not considered safe for treatment of premature infants. Alternative or adjunctive therapies are needed to improve outcomes of full-term and premature infants after exposure to HI. Inter-alpha inhibitor proteins (IAIPs) are immunomodulatory molecules that are proposed to limit the progression of neonatal inflammatory conditions, such as sepsis. Inflammation exacerbates neonatal HIE and suggests that IAIPs could attenuate HI-related brain injury and improve cognitive outcomes associated with HIE. Recent studies have shown that intraperitoneal treatment with IAIPs can decrease neuronal and non-neuronal cell death, attenuate glial responses and leukocyte invasion, and provide long-term behavioral benefits in neonatal rat models of HI-related brain injury. The present review summarizes these findings and outlines the remaining experimental analyses necessary to determine the clinical applicability of this promising neuroprotective treatment for neonatal HI-related brain injury.