Micellar association in simultaneous presence of organic salts/additives

Viscosity measurements under Newtonian flow conditions had been performed on cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) aqueous solutions in the combined presence of sodium salts of aromatic acids (sodium salicylate, NaSal; sodium benzoate, NaBen; sodium anthranilate, NaAn) and organic additives (1-hexanol, C₆OH; n-hexylamine, C₆NH₂) at 30°C. On addition of C₆OH or C₆NH₂, the viscosity of 25 mM CTAB solution remained nearly constant without salt as well as with a lower salt concentration. This is due to low CTAB concentration which is not sufficient to produce structural changes in this concentration range of salts. However, as the salt concentration was increased further, the effect of C₆OH/C₆NH₂ addition was different with different salts: The viscosity first increased; then a decrease was observed with the former while with C₆NH₂ a decrease followed by constancy appeared in plots of relative viscosities (η _r ) vs. organic additive concentrations. At further higher salt concentration, the magnitude of η _r was much higher. The viscosity increase is explained in terms of micellar growth and the decrease in terms of swollen micelle formation (due to interior solubilization of organic additive) or micellar disintegration (due to formation of water + additive pseudophase).     

Effect of Product Conductivity on Field-Activated Combustion Synthesis

Experimental and modeling results on the field-activated combustion synthesis (FACS) of Nb₅Si₃ are reported. In the absence of an electric field and without reactant preheating, Nb₅Si₃ cannot be prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). Under the influence of a field a self-sustaining combustion wave is established whose rate of propagation decreases with traveled distance. For relatively low field values, the wave propagation mode changes from a continuous (smooth) to a spin mode. The product of synthesis depends on the mode of propagation. Synthesis during continuous wave propagation results in the formation of Nb₅Si₃, primarily in the α-modification. In contrast, when the wave propagates in a spin mode, the product is NbSi₂ with unreacted niobium. The present observations demonstrate a case where the field effect is not localized, as was the case in previous studies. The difference in behavior is attributed to differences in the electrical conductivities of the product phases.     

Photochemical oxidation of fatty acid esters with and without chlorophyll

1. It has been confirmed that the principal products formed in the oxidation of methyl oleate by oxygen under a variety of conditions are predominantlytrans hydroperoxides. However no inversion of the double bond occurs in unoxidized oleate. Hence the conversion ofcis totrans double bonds and peroxide formation occur together in the same molecules.
2. The autoxidation of methyl linoleate at low temperature yields predominantlycis,trans conjugated hydroperoxides. Autoxidation at 25°C., oxidation catalyzed by visible light, or ultraviolet light and copper soap catalyzed oxidation at temperatures appreciably above 0°C., lead to the formation primarily oftrans,trans conjugated hydroperoxides. The inversion of the second double bond in this case appears to be independent of the peroxide-forming reactions.
3. The photochlorophyll oxidation of methyl linoleate leads to the formation of some unconjugated hydroperoxides, some of which containtrans double bonds.
4. Under all of the conditions employed in the present investigation, the oxidation of methyl oleate and linoleate led primarily to the formation of monomeric peroxides which retained most of the unsaturation of the parent compound.

     

Inhibition of lipid peroxidation in UVA‐treated skin fibroblasts by luteolin and its glucosides

Ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation causes oxidative damage to human skin cells. This damage may be reduced or prevented using plant compounds as photoprotectants. To investigate the relationship between chemical structure and UVA‐protective activity, three structurally related flavonoids, namely luteolin, luteolin‐7‐O‐glucoside (both present in artichoke) and luteolin‐4'‐O‐glucoside (present in wild carrot), were studied. Human skin fibroblasts exposed to UVA (250 and 500 kJ/m²) were treated with each flavonoid (30 µM) for 18 h prior to irradiation. The extent of lipid peroxidation in the cellular extracts was assessed as lipid peroxides and malondialdehyde (MDA). Luteolin and luteolin‐7‐O‐glucoside both prevented a significant increase in lipid peroxides at 250 kJ/m², but at 500 kJ/m² their effectiveness was clearly attenuated. Contrastingly, luteolin‐4'‐O‐glucoside was pro‐oxidant at both radiation doses. Measurements of MDA levels highlighted that luteolin was clearly more effective than the two glucosides at both 250 and 500 kJ/m². Overall, these results show clear differences between the three flavonoids and suggest that the B ring 3',4'‐dihydroxy group, lacking in luteolin‐4'‐O‐glucoside, may be particularly important. Flavonoid: transition metal ion chelation studies confirmed the influence of the 3',4'‐dihydroxy group, which is also relevant to the quenching of singlet oxygen. These features as well as the greater lipophilic nature of luteolin together explain the superior activity of this flavonoid which may be potentially useful as a supplement in photoprotective skin preparations.     

Painting-91: a large scale database for computational painting categorization

Computer analysis of visual art, especially paintings, is an interesting cross-disciplinary research domain. Most of the research in the analysis of paintings involve medium to small range datasets with own specific settings. Interestingly, significant progress has been made in the field of object and scene recognition lately. A key factor in this success is the introduction and availability of benchmark datasets for evaluation. Surprisingly, such a benchmark setup is still missing in the area of computational painting categorization. In this work, we propose a novel large scale dataset of digital paintings. The dataset consists of paintings from 91 different painters. We further show three applications of our dataset namely: artist categorization, style classification and saliency detection. We investigate how local and global features popular in image classification perform for the tasks of artist and style categorization. For both categorization tasks, our experimental results suggest that combining multiple features significantly improves the final performance. We show that state-of-the-art computer vision methods can correctly classify 50 % of unseen paintings to its painter in a large dataset and correctly attribute its artistic style in over 60 % of the cases. Additionally, we explore the task of saliency detection on paintings and show experimental findings using state-of-the-art saliency estimation algorithms.     

Behavioral and physiological responses of cabbage looper,Trichoplusia ni (Hübner), to steam distillates from resistant versus susceptible soybean plants

Soybean plant volatiles, extracted as steam distillates, significantly affected the behavior and biology of the cabbage looper,Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Distillates from the susceptible Davis variety attractedT. ni larvae and female adults, whereas those from resistant PI 227687 plants repelled them. When mixed in an artificial diet, steam distillates from PI 227687 plants caused mortality of first-instar larvae. Adults emerging from pupae topically treated with 5 g of such PI 227687 extractable showed developmental abnormalities. Larval feeding was significantly less on Davis leaves treated with PI 227687 volatiles as compared to solvent (acetone) or such Davis extractables. However, Davis volatiles on PI 227687 leaves did not increase larval feeding. HPLC analyses of steam distillates from susceptible Davis versus resistant PI 227687 indicated differences.     

Identification of the pathway of α-oxidation of cerebronic acid in peroxisomes

Cerebronic acid (2-hydroxytetracosanoic acid), an α-hydroxy very long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) and a component of cerebrosides and sulfatides, is unique to nervous tissues. Studies were carried out to identify the pathway and the subcellular site involved in the oxidation of cerebronic acid. The results from these studies revealed that cerebronic acid was catabolized by α-oxidation to CO₂ and tricosanoic acid (23:0). Studies with subcellular fractions indicated that cerebronic acid was α-oxidized in fractions having particulate bound catalase and enzyme systems for the β-oxidation of VLCFA (e.g., lignoceric acid), suggesting peroxisomes as the subcellular organelle responsible for α-oxidation of cerebronic acid. Etomoxir, an inhibitor of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, had no effect on cerebronic acid α-oxidation. Further, cerebronic acid oxidation was found to be dependent on the presence of NAD⁺ but not FAD, NADPH, ATP, Mg²⁺, or CoASH. Intraorganellar localization studies indicated that the enzyme system for the α-oxidation of cerebronic acid was associated with the peroxisomal limiting membranes. Studies on cultured fibroblasts from normal subjects and patients with peroxisomal disorders indicated an impairment of α-oxidation of cerebronic acid in cell lines that lack peroxisomes [e.g., Zellweger syndrome (ZS)]. On the other hand, α-oxidation of cerebronic acid was found to be normal in cell lines from X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, adult Refsum disease, and rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata. Our results clearly demonstrate that α-oxidation of α-hydroxy VLCFA (cerebronic acid) is a peroxisomal function and that this oxidation is impaired in ZS. Furthermore, this α-oxidation enzyme system is distinct from the one for the α-oxidation of β-carbon branched-chain fatty acids (e.g., phytanic acid).     

Prediction of the viscosities of liquid mixtures by a group solution model

Group solution models of liquid mixtures have been used previously to predict thermodynamic properties of non-ideal systems. A model of this type has been developed which enables the viscosities of liquid mixtures to be predicted. The concept of an “ideal viscosity” is introduced, and allowance made for the interaction between the groups present and for the structural contributions of differing molecules. Predictions require a knowledge of only the viscosities of the pure components of a mixture. It has been tested for mixtures of alkanes, alcohols and water at 25°C, and gives good agreement with experiment. Experimental viscosities for ethanol/n-hexane, for n-propanol/water, and for four multi-component mixtures at 25°C are presented.     

Novel Organometallic Aromatic Azo Polyesters Based on Ferrocene

Some ferrocene containing aromatic azo polyesters were prepared by condensing 1,1-ferrocenedicarbonyl chloride with different azo groups containing aromatic diols, which were synthesized by diazotization coupling reaction from aromatic diamines. The polymeric products were separated as two portions on the basis of their solubility and subsequently characterized by their elemental analysis and FTIR spectral studies. Thermal properties of the products were measured by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry and the activation energies of pyrolysis were calculated using Horowitz and Metzger's method. The molecular weights of the soluble portions were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and these portions were also characterized by their inherent viscosities and UV-Vis spectroscopic studies.     

Role of sand on curing of partex surface by UV radiation

A partex surface was modified by a UV‐curing system with epoxy acrylate (EB‐600). A set of formulations was prepared with oligomer and the trifunctional monomer trimethylol propane triacrylate in different combinations of percentages (1–5%) of sand to study the role of sand in various physical properties of UV‐cured thin films, as well as partex surfaces. Increased pendulum hardness (PH), gloss, adhesion, and abrasion values were obtained by the addition of sand into the partex surfaces. The best results were obtained with the formulation containing 3% sand. An enhanced PH and a decreased percentage of gel content of the UV‐cured film was observed with an increase of the sand concentration. A simulated weathering test was performed with partex surfaces cured by a formulation containing 3% sand in the base coat. The losses of the physical properties were found to be lower over the surface treated with the formulation containing sand. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 2385–2392, 2002