In Vitro Angiogenic Behavior of HUVECs on Biomimetic SF/SA Composite Scaffolds

The 60Fc and 70Fc SF/SA blend scaffolds were prepared to mimic the functions of the native ECM for skin regeneration.Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) were used to examine the cell cytotoxicity,adhesion,growth factors secretion and the gene expression of associated angiogenic factors.Cell proliferation,adhesion and live-dead analyses showed that HUVECs could better attach,grow,and proliferate on the 70Fc scaffolds compared with 60Fc scaffolds and unmodified controls.Furthermore,the 70Fc scaffolds showed higher levels of specific angiogenic proteins and genes expression as well.This study suggests that the involvement of higher composition of SF (about 70%) than that of SA on the blended scaffolds could be advantageous as it is more suitable to promote angiogenesis,which is potential for vascularization during skin repair.     

Improvement of some pharmaceutical properties of drugs by cyclodextrin complexation. 4. Chlorpromazine hydrochloride

This study is a retrospective review of admissions, discharge records and blood culture results of neonates admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, from the first of January 1991 to the 31st of December 1992. During this two year period there were 443 positive blood cultures. Ninety percent of the blood cultures were from babies born in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, thus making the incidence of neonatal bacteraemia 22.2 per 1000 live births. The overall mortality rate was 37.2%. Gram negative bacteria accounted for 70.9% and Gram positive bacteria for 29.1% of all neonatal bacteraemia. The most common isolates were Enterobacter species 29.6%; Streptococcus faecalis 14.4%; Staphylococcus aureus 10.8%; Acinetobacter species 9.5%; Klebsiella species 9% and Escherichia coli 8.8%. It is concluded that the incidence of neonatal bacterial sepsis is high in our hospital and is associated with a very high mortality rate. There is thus an urgent need to institute appropriate preventive and therapeutic measures.     

Transient Receptor Potential Channels and Itch

Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels are multifunctional sensory molecules that are abundant in the skin and are involved in the sensory pathways of itch, pain, and inflammation. In this review article, we explore the complex physiology of different TRP channels, their role in modulating itch sensation, and their contributions to the pathophysiology of acute and chronic itch conditions. We also cover small molecule and topical TRP channel agents that are emerging as potential anti-pruritic treatments; some of which have shown great promise, with a few treatments advancing into clinical trials—namely, TRPV1, TRPV3, TRPA1, and TRPM8 targets. Lastly, we touch on possible ethnic differences in TRP channel genetic polymorphisms and how this may affect treatment response to TRP channel targets. Further controlled studies on the safety and efficacy of these emerging treatments is needed before clinical use.     

Removal of Ag(l), Cu(II) and Zn(ll) ions with a supported liquid membrane containing cryptands as carriers

The interface behaviour in the facilitated co-transport of Ag(I), Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions through supported liquid membranes (SLMs) made of a flat-sheet polypropylene membrane support containing cryptands (2.2.2 or 2.2.1) as carriers was studied. The liquid-liquid extraction tests showed a maximum distribution coefficient when the carrier concentration was greaterthan 10⁻⁴M. In transport experiments the transmembrane flux increased with increasing carrier concentration reaching a limiting value at greater than 10⁻³M concentration. The calculation ofthe diffusion coefficients in membranes showed ahigherdiffusivityof2.2.2-metal complexes with respect to 2.2.1-metal complexes for silver ions. A sequence of diffusivity D(Ag+)>D(Cu²⁺)>D(Zn²⁺) was obtained, but carrier 2.2.1 showed a higher selectivity through copper ions. A sequence of diffusivity D(Cu²⁺)>D(Zn²⁺)>D(Ag⁺) was obtained. The diffusivity was significantly higher when using Celgard 2500 support compared to Celgard 2400 or 2402. Variable metal ion concentrations in the feed phase fluxes almost zero, at less than 10⁻² M concentration, were obtained. In the transient state of the transport through the SLM, different molar flow rates at the feed-membrane and membrane-strip interfaces were observed. The selectivity of the interfaces containing 2.2.2 in the separation binary mixtures of ions showed the following separation factors: SF_AgZn = 2.50, SF_AgCu = 1.64, SF_cuZn = 1.42.     

Asymmetric Sharpless epoxidation of 13S‐hydroxy‐ 9Z, 11E‐octadecadienoic acid (13S‐HODE)

The asymmetric Sharpless epoxidation of methyl 13S‐hydroxy‐9Z, 11E‐octadeca‐dienoate (13S‐HODE, 1 ) with tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) catalysed by titanium tetraisopropoxide {Ti(ⁱOPr)₄} in the presence of L(+)‐diisopropyl tartrate (L‐DIPT) gave methyl 13S‐hydroxy‐11S, 12S‐epoxy‐9Z‐octadecenoate 2 (erythro isomer) in 84% diastereomeric excess (de). The epoxidation of 1 with TBHP catalysed by Ti(ⁱOPr)₄ in the presence of D(‐)‐DIPT yielded methyl 13S‐hydroxy‐11RR12R‐epoxy‐9Z‐octadecenoate (threo isomer) 3 in 76% de.     

Chemically crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol for water shut-off and conformance control treatments during oil production: The effect of silica nanoparticles

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a synthetic commercial polymer with the inherent hydrophilicity, thermal and chemical resistance, ecofriendly, and a high anti-fouling potential making it an attractive choice for water treatment applications, but has been less studied for oil and gas industry applications. On the other hands, nowadays nanotechnology has gained an important space within most core areas in upstream oil and gas operations. The present work, first PVA at various concentrations, was added to 5 wt% NaCl solution and then, crosslinked by formaldehyde 37% at two different concentration ratios. To compare, a nanocomposite hydrogel was fabricated in the same way with 1 wt% silica nanoparticles (NPs). Contact angle and filtration test were performed to confirm the ability of PVA hydrogel and nanocomposite hydrogel for oil and water adsorption. Following this, a rheology measurement was made to realize the gelation time of samples and their performance for water shutoff applications. Finally, an experimental flooding setup was designed to inject the fluids into carbonate plugs in order to estimate of oil and water effective permeability, and oil recovery factor (RF) before and after the PVA hydrogel and nanocomposite hydrogel injection. Both samples wettability tests showed a super-hydrophilic state for brine droplets and neutral state for synthetic oil droplets by using nanocomposite hydrogel. The flooding tests revealed that the PVA hydrogel was clogged the plug with blocking efficiency of 32.83% for water effective permeability and 14.60% for oil effective permeability. This value was calculated to be 50.37% for water effective permeability and 31.36% for oil effective permeability in the case of nanocomposite hydrogel injection. Oil RF was also reported to be 64.58% after injecting PVA hydrogel which was higher than nanocomposite hydrogel injection with RF of 52.08%.     

Evaluation of Rice Straw-Based Hydrogels for Purification of Wastewater

The use of rice straw waste (RS) as a substrate for the preparation of metal adsorbents hydrogels has been demonstrated. Four types of RS-based hydrogels were prepared, and evaluated for their effectiveness on purification of wastewater loaded with Cu(II), Fe(II), Zn(II) and Mn(II). Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption equations were used for estimating the adsorption capacities. The results indicated that the hydrogels have significant effect on removing the metal ions from wastewater. The removal efficiency exceeded 95% for Cu(II) and Mn (II) ions and 85 for Fe (II) and Zn (II) ions.     

Reticular chemistry: occurrence and taxonomy of nets and grammar for the design of frameworks

The structures of all 1127 three-periodic extended metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) reported in the Cambridge Structure Database have been analyzed, and their underlying topology has been determined. It is remarkable that among the almost infinite number of net topologies that are available for MOFs to adopt, only a handful of nets are actually observed. The discovery of this inversion between expected and observed nets led us to deduce a system of classification "taxonomy" for interpreting and rationalizing known MOF structures, as well as those that will be made in future. The origin of this inversion is attributed to the different modes with which MOF synthesis has been approached. Specifically, three levels of complexity are defined that embody rules "grammar" for the design of MOFs and other extended structures. This system accounts for the present proliferation of MOF structures of high symmetry nets, but more importantly, it provides the basis for designing a building block that "codes" for a specific structure and, indeed, only that structure.     

Absorption of gas into a wavy falling film

In this work, we present results of a study of gas absorption into a falling film on a vertical substrate. The film flow is accompanied by the formation of nonlinear waves which strongly influence the diffusion layer that develops from the film surface. As a result, significant enhancement of mass transfer has been observed in experiments. We use recent advances in modelling of the hydrodynamics and solve a two-dimensional convective-diffusion equation for the solute concentration. Numerical solutions for the finite-amplitude wave regimes and associated integral absorption rates are obtained for a range of flow conditions. Our results show clearly the influence of waves on the development of the diffusion layer and, in particular, the enhancement of absorption due to the waves; the existence of optimal conditions for maximizing the absorption rate is also demonstrated.     

Production of Methyl Oleate in Reactive‐Separation Systems

The esterification of oleic acid and methanol using sulfuric acid as a homogeneous catalyst is studied in reactive‐separation systems. The conversion of the free fatty acid was investigated in two different experiments with the molar ratio of methanol/oleic acid, amount of catalyst, temperature, and reaction time as variables. The conversion of the free fatty acid was found to depend strongly on the molar ratio of methanol/oleic acid. The reaction time had a direct effect on the conversion of the free fatty acid, and this conversion decreased with higher temperature. These results were valuable for a preliminary study on biodiesel production, using an acid homogeneous catalyst in a reactive dividing‐wall distillation column.