Preparation of polyHIPE/clay composites by using a reactive intercalant

Porous polymer composites have been synthesized by polymerizing the continuous phase of styrene/divinylbenzene high internal phase emulsions in the presence of organophilic montmorillonite clay having a novel oil‐based intercalant which is a reactive methacryl derivative of quaternized methyl oleate. The morphological features, thermal stability and mechanical properties, namely compression modulus and crush strength of the resulting composites have been investigated as a function of degree of nanoclay loading. All the composites reinforced with the clay were found to have improved thermal and mechanical properties as well as desired porous and interconnected structural morphology, as compared with the bare polyHIPE matrix. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41333.     

Preparation of porous polyester composites via emulsion templating: Investigation of the morphological,mechanical, and thermal properties

Open porous polyester composites were prepared by the crosslinking of unsaturated polyester resin and divinylbenzene in water‐in‐oil concentrated emulsion templates with the presence of a conventional surface modified montmorillonite nanoclay. Medium and high internal phase emulsions with either 55 or 80 wt% of internal phase were used as templates. The effect of monomer composition, emulsifier concentration, and internal phase amount on the emulsion stability and the morphology of the resulting porous composites were investigated. Moreover, the morphological properties of the resulting composites were determined depending on the amount of nanoclay loading. It was found that the morphological features, namely surface area and cell diameter, were altered dramatically with the amount of nanoclay loading. An important part of the research was focused on the variation of mechanical and thermal properties with the incorporation of nanoclay particles. The mechanical properties were improved both with the nanoclay incorporation and the use of medium internal phase emulsions. However, the used nanoclay did not have a significant effect on the thermal stability of the resulting composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:1531–1538, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Proteomic Identification of Target Proteins of Thiodigalactoside in White Adipose Tissue from Diet-Induced Obese Rats

Previously, galectin-1 (GAL1) was found to be up-regulated in obesity-prone subjects, suggesting that use of a GAL1 inhibitor could be a novel therapeutic approach for treatment of obesity. We evaluated thiodigalactoside (TDG) as a potent inhibitor of GAL1 and identified target proteins of TDG by performing comparative proteome analysis of white adipose tissue (WAT) from control and TDG-treated rats fed a high fat diet (HFD) using two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with MALDI-TOF-MS. Thirty-two spots from a total of 356 matched spots showed differential expression between control and TDG-treated rats, as identified by peptide mass fingerprinting. These proteins were categorized into groups such as carbohydrate metabolism, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, signal transduction, cytoskeletal, and mitochondrial proteins based on functional analysis using Protein Annotation Through Evolutionary Relationship (PANTHER) and Database for Annotation, Visualization, Integrated Discovery (DAVID) classification. One of the most striking findings of this study was significant changes in Carbonic anhydrase 3 (CA3), Voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1), phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 1 (PEBP1), annexin A2 (ANXA2) and lactate dehydrogenase A chain (LDHA) protein levels between WAT from control and TDG-treated groups. In addition, we confirmed increased expression of thermogenic proteins as well as reduced expression of lipogenic proteins in response to TDG treatment. These results suggest that TDG may effectively prevent obesity, and TDG-responsive proteins can be used as novel target proteins for obesity treatment.     

A step‐by‐step application of Sandia method in developing typical meteorological years for different locations in Oman

This paper reports on the development of typical meteorological years (TMYs) for seven different locations in Oman based on measured meteorological data. Depending on the availability of data the TMYs developed using Sandia method used data covering 7–17 years. The method as implemented here in a step‐by‐step procedure with illustrations is made simple. The procedure described herein is computerized and can handle any number of data sets in an easy‐to‐use manner. This should facilitate the development of TMYs for any location where enough data is available. Sensitivity analysis of different weights assigned to different weather parameters shows that Sandia method is highly affected by solar flux even if its weight is reduced by half while the weights of other parameters such as temperature, wind, and relative humidity have less impact on the selection of TMY. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transient multi gas—solid reactions in a bubbling fluidized bed

A “multimodel” for gas‐solid reactions in a reacting particle has been applied to a bubbling fluidized bed reactor. The particle is tracked and bed and particle variables are determined continuously. The conservation equations of mass and heat with auxiliary relations are solved in an accelerating particle, which may rise or fall. The effects of bulk pressure, velocity and temperature, and particle diameter are studied. Heat and mass transfer coefficients may fluctuate up to 75% and 148% respectively. Doubling the pressure changes h_c by 75% and k_c by ?45%. Increase in pellet diameter reduces both h_c and k_c.     

Effect of under nitrogen annealing on photo-electrochemical characteristics of films deposited from authentic Cu2SnSe3 sources by thermal vacuum under argon gas condensation

This communication describes how annealing under nitrogen affects photo-electrochemical characteristics of films deposited from authentic Cu₂SnSe₃ sources by vacuum evaporation under argon gas (low flow rate 5 cm³/min) using substrate 300 °C. Annealing lowered the photoresponse of the deposited film, by affecting crystallite structure, morphology, composition and pores in the films. Annealing at temperatures in the range 150–350 °C improved crystallinity of the film but lead to pore formation between adjacent, which lowered photoresponse by increased resistance across the electrode/redox interface. Higher temperature (450 °C) annealing lead to SnO₂ formation, as an additional phase, at the expense of Cu₂SnS₃ decomposition. Porosity and mixed phases with SnO₂ presumably increased film internal resistance and resulted in poor charge transfer across the solid/redox couple interface. By affecting film characteristics, annealing lowered photoresponse for the deposited films.     

Treatment of TENORM waste: Phosphogypsum produced in fertilizer industry

This study concerns treatment of phosphogypsum (PG) waste from phosphoric acid production, containing ²²⁶Ra as major radioactive contaminant. Physical and chemical treatment was performed. The physical treatment was based on the particle size separation (dry and wet frationation), whereas the chemical treatment was carried out using leaching solutions (single and sequential leaching processes). The results showed that the particle size separation affected the distribution of radionuclides in PG waste. High enrichment fators (Q) of ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Pb were obtained in the wet fractionation. The Q value for ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Pb was 3.1 and 3.9 compared to the PG bulk. The chemical leaching conditions of PG waste were optimized. In the single chemical leaching, 40% of total radium-226 in PG was removed. In the sequential leaching, about 87% of ²²⁶Ra was removed when the PG waste was washed with alkali solutions and pretreated and leached with a nitric acid solution.     

Platelet serotonin transporter in depressed children and adolescents: 3H-paroxetine platelet binding before and after sertraline

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate serotonin transporter protein (5HTPR) binding in platelets from children and adolescents with major depression (MDD) compared to normal controls using the selective ligand 3H-paroxetine. METHOD: Children and adolescents with MDD (n = 24) defined by DSM-III-R criteria and normal controls (n = 22) were compared by platelet 5HTPR kinetic analysis with the hypothesis that 5HTPR is reduced in MDD. A subset of MDD subjects (n = 18) continued to participate in a fixed-dose, open-label sertraline trial for 6 weeks followed by drug-free washout and repeated 5HTPR analysis. RESULTS: Sex, prepubertal status, and age had no effect on 5HTPR. Medication-free MDD subjects differed from controls in reduced binding capacity (Bmax) (p < .001). Sertraline therapy decreased binding affinity from baseline non-selectively (p < .05), and Bmax elevation from baseline was associated with nonresponse and suicide attempt history. CONCLUSION: Earlier literature in this population is replicated with regard to reduced platelet 5HTPR Bmax in MDD. Findings support a continuum of 5HTPR involvement in MDD across the developmental spectrum.     

Effect of mixing and curing waters on the behaviour of cement pastes and concrete part 1 : Microstructure of cement pastes

The influence of Sea, ground, Nile and drinking waters on the microstructure of some hydraulic cements is investigated by means of X-ray diffraction analysis. The calcium sulfo- and carboaluminate hydrates form well with a water cement ratio of 2. Seawater leads to the precipitation of gypsum. The hydration products of ordinary portland cement (OPC) pastes hydrated for a year with the four water types are similar. A survey on the analysis of waters used is given.