New metal chelate sorbent for albumin adsorption: Cibacron Blue F3GA-Zn(II) attached microporous poly(HEMA) membranes

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [poly(HEMA)] membranes were prepared by UV-initiated photopolymerization of HEMA in the presence of an initiator (α-α′-azobis-isobutyronitrile, AIBN). The triazine dye Cibacron Blue F3GA was attached as an affinity ligand to poly(HEMA) membranes, covalently. These affinity membranes with a swelling ratio of 58% and containing 10.7 mmol Cibacron Blue F3GA/m² were used in the albumin adsorption studies. After dye-attachment, Zn(II) ions were chelated within the membranes via attached-dye molecules. Different amounts of Zn(II) ions [650–1440 mg Zn(II)/m²] were loaded on the membranes by changing the initial concentration of Zn(II) ions and pH. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption on these membranes from aqueous solutions containing different amounts of BSA at different pH was investigated in batch reactors. The nonspecific adsorption of BSA on the poly(HEMA) membranes was negligible. Cibacron Blue F3GA attachment significantly increased the BSA adsorption up to 92.1 mg BSA/m². Adsorption capacity was further increased when Zn(II) ions were attached (up to 144.8 mg BSA m²). More than 90% of the adsorbed BSA was desorbed in 1 h in the desorption medium containing 0.5M NaSCN at pH 8.0 and 0.025M EDTA at pH 4.9. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 68: 657–664, 1998     

Roof pond cooling of buildings in hot arid climates

The weather in Baghdad, Iraq is hot dry in the summer while water is plentiful and cheap. These are conditions which encourage the use of evaporative cooling. A building with one space in it was used to test the effect of a roof pond which was ventilated mechanically for summer cooling. Thermal measurements were taken for the room in normal conditions without a pond, with a lone pond and no mechanical ventilation, and then finally with mechanically forced ventilation. The results showed a marked improvement in the space temperature with a significant reduction during the peak time outside temperatures at 3 O’clock reaching 6.0 °C between the room without the pond and with a ventilated one and 6.5° at 18:00 during peak inside temperatures. The study also showed that improvements would be better in real-life conditions where exterior wall area is less than the test room.     

可降解血管支架用Mg-4.0Zn-0.2Mn-0.2Ca微细管的体外降解行为

通过浸泡实验和电化学测试研究了Mg-4.0Zn-0.2Mn-0.2Ca（质量分数）微细管的体外降解行为与腐蚀机理。结果表明,退火处理可以提高微细管的耐腐蚀性。长期浸泡实验表明腐蚀过程相对均匀,退火微细管在Hank''s溶液中的腐蚀速率约为0.30 mm/a。在浸泡初期,退火管材表面生成Mg(OH)₂,形成保护膜,阻碍腐蚀进行。虽然Mg(OH)₂膜上形成的羟基磷灰石（HA）可以进一步降低腐蚀速率,但是镁基体中粗大的第二相会增强电偶腐蚀效应,并且生成的大量氢气,从而破坏HA膜,使腐蚀继续进行。     

Solving fuzzy multiple objective generalized assignment problems directly via bees algorithm and fuzzy ranking

In this paper, a direct solution approach for solving fuzzy multiple objective generalized assignment problems is proposed. In the problem, the coefficients and right hand side values of the constraints and the objective function coefficients are defined as fuzzy numbers. The addressed problem also has a multiple objective structure where the goals are determined so as to minimize the total cost and the imbalance between the workload of the agents. The direct solution approach utilizes the fuzzy ranking methods to rank the objective function values and to determine the feasibility of the constraints within a metaheuristic search algorithm, known as bees algorithm. Different fuzzy ranking methods, namely signed distance, integral value and area based approach are used in bees algorithm. For the computational study, the effects of these fuzzy ranking methods on the quality of the solutions are also analyzed.     

Alanine containing porous beads for mercury removal from artificial solutions

N‐methacryloyl‐(L )‐alanine (MALA) was synthesized by using methacryloyl chloride and alanine as a metal‐complexing ligand or comonomer. Spherical beads with an average diameter of 150–200 μm were obtained by suspension polymerization of MALA and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) conducted in an aqueous dispersion medium. Poly(HEMA–MALA) beads were characterized by SEM, swelling studies, surface area measurement, and elemental analysis. Poly(HEMA–MALA) beads have a specific surface area of 68.5 m²/g. Poly(HEMA–MALA) beads with a swelling ratio of 63%, and containing 247 μmol MALA/g were used in the removal of Hg²⁺ from aqueous solutions. Adsorption equilibrium was achieved in about 60 min. The adsorption of Hg²⁺ ions onto PHEMA beads was negligible (0.3 mg/g). The MALA incorporation into the polymer structure significantly increased the mercury adsorption capacity (168 mg/g). Adsorption capacity of MALA containing beads increased significantly with pH. The adsorption of Hg²⁺ ions increased with increasing pH and reached a plateau value at around pH 5.0. Competitive heavy metal adsorption from aqueous solutions containing Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Hg²⁺ was also investigated. The adsorption capacities are 44.5 mg/g for Hg²⁺, 6.4 mg/g for Cd²⁺, 2.9 mg/g for Pb²⁺, and 2.0 mg/g for Cu²⁺ ions. These results may be considered as an indication of higher specificity of the poly(HEMA–MALA) beads for the Hg²⁺ comparing to other ions. Consecutive adsorption and elution operations showed the feasibility of repeated use for poly(HEMA–MALA) chelating beads. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 1222–1228, 2006     

Topography of brain sodium accumulation in progressive multiple sclerosis

Object

Sodium accumulation is involved in neuronal injury occurring in multiple sclerosis (MS). We aimed to assess sodium accumulation in progressive MS, known to suffer from severe neuronal injury.

Materials and methods

3D-²³Na-MRI was obtained on a 3T-MR-scanner in 20 progressive MS patients [11 primary-progressive (PPMS) and nine secondary-progressive (SPMS)] and 15 controls. Total sodium concentrations (TSC) within grey matter (GM), normal-appearing white matter (WM) and lesions were extracted. Statistical mapping analyses of TSC abnormalities were also performed.

Results

Progressive MS patients presented higher GM–TSC values (48.8 ± 3.1 mmol/l wet tissue vol, p < 0.001) and T₂lesions-TSC values (50.9 ± 2.2 mmol/l wet tissue vol, p = 0.01) compared to GM and WM of controls. Statistical mapping analysis showed TSC increases in PPMS patients confined to motor and somatosensory cortices, prefrontal cortices, pons and cerebellum. In SPMS, TSC increases were associated with areas involving: primary motor, premotor and somatosensory cortices; prefrontal, cingulate and visual cortices; the corpus callosum, thalami, brainstem and cerebellum. Anterior prefrontal and premotor cortices TSC were correlated with disability.

Conclusion

Sodium accumulation is present in progressive MS patients, more restricted to the motor system in PPMS and more widespread in SPMS. Local brain sodium accumulation appears as a promising marker to monitor patients with progressive MS.     

A fog-based security framework for intelligent traffic light control system

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The world is facing many problems including that of traffic congestion. To highlight the issue of traffic congestion worldwide specially in urban areas and to...     

Rule extraction from artificial neural networks to discover causes of quality defects in fabric production

In this paper, a novel classification rule extraction algorithm which has been recently proposed by authors is employed to determine the causes of quality defects in a fabric production facility in terms of predetermined parameters like machine type, warp type etc. The proposed rule extraction algorithm works on the trained artificial neural networks in order to discover the hidden information which is available in the form of connection weights in them. The proposed algorithm is mainly based on a swarm intelligence metaheuristic which is known as Touring Ant Colony Optimization (TACO). The algorithm has a hierarchical structure with two levels. In the first level, a multilayer perceptron type neural network is trained and its weights are extracted. After obtaining the weights, in the second level, the TACO-based algorithm is applied to extract classification rules. The main purpose of the present work is to determine and analyze the most effective parameters on the quality defects in fabric production. The parameters and their levels which give the best quality results are tried to be discovered and evaluated by making use of the proposed algorithm. It is also aimed to compare the accuracy of proposed algorithm with several other rule-based algorithms in order to present its competitiveness.