Hepatitis-B virus and schistosomiasis infections in childhood proteinuria

Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg), circulating anti-schistosomal IgG (CSAb) and circulating specific schistosomal immune complexes (CIC) were detected, using ELISA, in sera of 40 active nephrotic children, 40 active S. mansoni infected cases and 20 apparently normal age-matched controls. The presence of HBsAg cases was significantly higher among nephrotic cases (20%), active S. mansoni cases (17.5%) than controls. Moreover, HBsAg cases were significantly higher in positive CIC S. mansoni cases than negative CIC ones. The mean O.D. readings of CSAb was significantly higher in positive HBsAg nephrotic cases than negatives. At the same time, the anti-schistosomal antibodies were higher in S. mansoni cases with proteinuria than those without. Specific CIC level was significantly higher among nephrotic and schistosomiasis cases than controls. The CIC were significantly higher in schistosomiasis cases with positive HBsAg than those with negative HBsAg and were detected in 80% of cases with proteinuria compared to 37% of cases without proteinuria with a statistically significant difference. On the other hand, CIC level was not influenced, in nephrotic cases, by the presence or absence of HBsAg. It was concluded that the presence of proteinuria was considered as a good monitor of the kidney affection either with schistosomiasis or the nephrotic syndrome or the HBsAg. The detection of CIC can be used as a good monitor too and could be included in methods of early diagnosis and/or following the disease prognosis.     

Synthesis and implementation of non-integer integrators using RLC devices

The aim of this article is to introduce a new method used to implement non-integer operators, which is based on R, L and C electrical devices. Several configurations of RLC devices are emphasised. Our results show that only specific arrangements of RLC devices may lead to non-integer behaviour. We present a new synthesis method which is used to determine the electrical devices value based on high level parameters. We investigate a particular case of identical RLC cells which is widely used in automotive suspension controllers' implementation. Our results are applied to the implementation of the Citroen active suspension developed earlier by the Laps department (Moreau, Altet and Oustaloup 2004 Moreau, X., Altet, O. and Oustaloup, A. 2004. ‘The CRONE Suspension: Management of Comfort-Road Holding Dilemma’. Journal of Nonlinear Dynamics, 38: 461–484.  [Google Scholar], ‘The CRONE Suspension: Management of Comfort-Road Holding Dilemma’, Journal of Nonlinear Dynamics, 38, 467–484) in collaboration with the PSA Company.     

Fabrication of tissue engineering scaffold from poly(vinylalcohol-co-ethylene)/poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) blend: Miscibility,thermomechanical properties,and morphology

A series of poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) with poly(vinylalcohol-co-ethylene) (PEVAL) blends were prepared by solution casting method. The miscibility, thermal and mechanical properties have been investigated using FTIR, DSC, and DMA techniques. The miscibility of this pair of polymers throughout compositions was proved by these methods through the single T_g and the presence of interactions between the constituents. The TGA analysis revealed three degradation zones and no sensible enhancement in the thermal stability of PLGA was noted with addition of PEVAL content. The SEM analysis revealed that the draying method dramatically influence the surface morphology of copolymers and blend. The cross section micrograph of blend scaffold containing 50 wt% of PEVAL presents microcavities of diameter pores ranged between 70 and 170 µm interconnected and uniformly distributed in the polymer matrix.     

A Practical Chemo-enzymatic Approach to Highly Enantio-Enriched 10-Ethyl-7,8-dihydro-γ-ionone Isomers: A Method for the Synthesis of 4,5-Didehydro-α-Ionone

An efficient and convenient strategy for the enantioselective synthesis of enantiomerically enriched 10-ethyl-7,8-dihydro-γ-ionone isomers (R)-(+)-7, and (S)-(-)-7 are described utilizing a lipase mediated resolution protocol, and reductive elimination of the secondary allylic alcohol as the key step. The enantioselective and diastereoselective lipase kinetic acetylation of 4-hydroxy-γ-ionone derivatives 6a afforded the 4-acetyl-γ-ionone derivatives (-)-8, and the 4-hydrox-γ-ionone derivatives (+)-6a, which are suitable precursors of the desired products. Stereospecific palladium-mediated elimination of allylic acetate provides the target compounds with an excellent enantiomeric excess and yield. Additionally, the novel 4,5-didehydro-α-ionone 13 is obtained from readily prepared (2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexa-2,4-dien-1-yl) methanol 9. The structures of all newly synthesized compounds have been elucidated by (1)H, (13)C NMR, GC-MS, and IR spectrometry. These compounds represent a new class of odorants that may be of pivotal relevance in industrial perfumery.     

Miscibility enhancement on the poly(vinylchloride)/poly(methylmethacrylate) blend and characterization by inverse gas chromatography: The corrected polymer–polymer interaction parameters from the probes dependency

The miscibility of poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methylmethacrylate) (PVC/PMMA) system was improved by introducing some pyrrolidone units into the main chains of PMMA. For that purpose, we have synthesized two copolymers of poly(methylmethacrylate‐co‐vinylpyrrolidone) (MMVP) through a radical polymerization and carried out a comparative study of PVC/MMVP blends by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The adequacy of seven n‐alkane probes has been tested to determine the thermodynamic parameters. The miscibility of the two systems has been proved by a single T_g for each blend. This observation was also confirmed by DSC analysis. To highlight the presence of interaction and its intensity between PVC and MMVP in the blends, the polymer–polymer interaction parameters have been evaluated by IGC trough which the influence of the solute has been resolved. The Schneider approach confirmed the miscibility of these systems as the K deviates positively from unity. The miscibility has been appeared highlighted from the positive difference in surface energy between the pure polymers and their blends. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Synthesis of mesoporous silica grafted with 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxy-silane

Hexagonal mesoporous silicas chemically modified with 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxy-silane functional groups were synthesized through the post-synthesis of surfactant free mesoporous silica (OSU-6-W). The solid state ²⁹Si NMR, titration method and elemental analysis of the modified samples showed that the average number of pendant groups in these hybrids were around 2.17 and 3.49 group/nm², respectively. The surface area analysis showed that these materials have pore diameters of 40.7 and 33.2 Å and surface areas of 966 and 720 m²/g, respectively. Infrared spectroscopy, solid state NMR for ¹³C and ²⁹Si nuclei and X-ray diffraction patterns are in agreement with the success of the proposed synthetic procedures, as confirmed for the formation of the mesoporous hybrids. They have shown good performance towards metal-ion adsorption.