Lubricant‐Infused Nanoparticulate Coatings Assembled by Layer‐by‐Layer Deposition

Omniphobic coatings are designed to repel a wide range of liquids without leaving stains on the surface. A practical coating should exhibit stable repellency, show no interference with color or transparency of the underlying substrate and, ideally, be deposited in a simple process on arbitrarily shaped surfaces. We use layer‐by‐layer (LbL) deposition of negatively charged silica nanoparticles and positively charged polyelectrolytes to create nanoscale surface structures that are further surface‐functionalized with fluorinated silanes and infiltrated with fluorinated oil, forming a smooth, highly repellent coating on surfaces of different materials and shapes. We show that four or more LbL cycles introduce sufficient surface roughness to effectively immobilize the lubricant into the nanoporous coating and provide a stable liquid interface that repels water, low‐surface‐tension liquids and complex fluids. The absence of hierarchical structures and the small size of the silica nanoparticles enables complete transparency of the coating, with light transmittance exceeding that of normal glass. The coating is mechanically robust, maintains its repellency after exposure to continuous flow for several days and prevents adsorption of streptavidin as a model protein. The LbL process is conceptually simple, of low cost, environmentally benign, scalable, automatable and therefore may present an efficient synthetic route to non‐fouling materials.     

A 2-methyleneoxetane analog of orlistat demonstrating inhibition of porcine pancreatic lipase

The 2-methyleneoxetane analog 2 of orlistat (OLS, 1) has been synthesized and tested against porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL). Despite the loss of the carbonyl group, a potential site for hydrogen bonding interaction with the enzyme and the key element in the acylation by OLS, 2 has activity comparable to 1.     

Community respiratory viral infection in adult lung transplant recipients

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To define the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and long-term complications of respiratory viral infections in adult lung transplant recipients. DESIGN: Retrospective review of the records of 122 adult lung transplant recipients over a 5-year period at one institution. RESULTS: Ten episodes of infection with respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza, influenza, or adenovirus were identified. All patients presented with symptoms of respiratory tract infection. Two patients died acutely and four patients subsequently had development of obliterative bronchiolitis (OB). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest community respiratory viral infections cause significant morbidity and mortality in lung transplant recipients. Further prospective studies are warranted to clarify the relationship between respiratory viral infection and OB and to define the optimal therapy for these viral infections.     

Microstructural development in non-oriented lamination steels

The isothermal decomposition of austenite in two commercial low carbon (0.04 w/o) steels has been examined using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Particular emphasis has been placed on analysing the pearlite reaction and the development of massive films of cementite at pro-eutectoid ferrite/pearlite interfaces. Similarly, grain boundary precipitation of cementite has been investigated. The results strongly support the contention that films of cementite at ferrite/pearlite interfaces form predominantly by a coarsening process. In addition, it is shown that grain boundary precipitation of cementite can occur from super-saturated ferrite or from the decomposition of austenite. Examination of the early stages of the pearlite reaction has provided evidence that multiple nucleation of cementite can be a necessary precursor to the development of a pearlite colony.     

Investigation into the nature of metal threads in a Renaissance tapestry and the cleaning of tarnished silver by UV/Ozone (UVO) treatment

Precious metal threads from a XVIth century tapestry were visually classified using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The nature of the surface metals and the nature of the corrosion products were studied by Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS).The cleaning of metal artefacts by UV/Ozone treatment was investigated and the surface properties before and after UVO treatment were determined by SIMS.     

High-level dystrophin expression after adenovirus-mediated dystrophin minigene transfer to skeletal muscle of dystrophic dogs: prolongation of expression with immunosuppression

The position effect of the cubitus interruptus (ci) gene occurs when this gene, which is normally located in the vicinity of the pericentric heterochromatin of chromosome 4, is transferred by chromosome rearrangements to euchromatin regions. Cytological aspects of this phenomenon were investigated. For six reciprocal translocations causing the position effect (Dubinin effect) of ci, the frequencies of the ectopic contacts of the translocated chromosome 4 homologue with pericentric heterochromatin were compared to the conjugation frequencies of this chromosome's homologues. The frequencies were significantly higher when the gene was transferred to proximal chromosome regions. This suggested that the suppression of the Dubinin effect in the case of translocations with euchromatin breaks in proximal chromosome regions is caused by the higher conjugation frequency of translocated and normal chromosome 4 homologues in proximal than in distal regions. The effect of genes modulo and Su(var)2-05, which are known as modifiers of the position effect variegation, on the conjugation frequency of chromosome 4 homologues was studied for three translocations. It was shown that modulo did not affect this frequency, whereas Su(var)205 significantly decreased it. Cytogenetic data confirmed the association of the ci position effect with damage in the somatic pairing of chromosome 4 homologues. These data indicate that pericentric heterochromatin participates in determination of the localization of chromosome regions in the interphase nucleus.     

Glucagon therapy in the treatment of symptomatic bradycardia

Symptomatic bradycardia is commonly seen in the emergency department. Effective drug therapy for this clinical scenario is limited. Although glucagon has been used in no clinical trial in this setting, its cardiac activity may prove useful, particularly in the setting of beta-adrenergic blockade. We report a case series comprising three patients taking maintenance beta-blocker therapy who presented to the ED with symptomatic bradycardia and hypotension and in whom glucagon therapy obviated the need for further treatment. Further study is warranted to evaluate and define the role of glucagon in the treatment of symptomatic bradycardia.     

Risk factors for emotional/behavioral problems in young adolescents: A prospective analysis of adolescent and parental stress and symptoms.

Stressful events in the lives of 309 10- to 15-year-olds and stressful events and psychological symptoms reported by their parents were examined in a 9-month study. Ss' self-reported emotional/behavioral problems were predicted by their reports of stressful events and their fathers' reports of psychological symptoms in cross-sectional analyses. Analyses at follow-up after controlling for initial reports of emotional/behavioral problems and prospective analyses predicting from first assessment to follow-up yielded significant effects for Ss' self-reported stressful events. Mothers' reports of children's problems were predicted by mothers' psychological symptoms in cross-sectional analyses and at follow-up after controlling for initial emotional/behavioral problems. Only prior levels of maternal reports of emotional/behavioral problems predicted mothers' reports of their children's problems 9 months later. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)