Application of silica gel/polyaniline composite for adsorption of ascorbic acid from aqueous solutions

Silica gel and a chemically modified silica gel with polyaniline (PAN) were used for adsorption of ascorbic acid (AA) from aqueous solutions. The surface morphology of the adsorbents was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Adsorption experiments were carried out using both batch and columnar systems. In batch system, the effects of some important parameters such as sorbent dose, contact time, initial concentration and temperature of the adsorbate were studied. Based on regression analysis, the sorption data obtained for SiO₂ were best represented by Freundlich isotherm and for the PAN/SiO₂ composite, the equilibrium sorption data were fitted better by Langmuir isotherm. The kinetic studies showed that the adsorption of AA on both sorbents follows pseudo second-order kinetics which implies a chemisorption mechanism and according to diffusion model, intra-particle diffusion is the rate-controlling step. The thermodynamic studies also showed that PAN/SiO₂ is a more effective adsorbent to adsorb AA than an unmodified SiO₂. In columnar mode, the effects of salt on breakthrough curve were investigated. Two kinetic models, Thomas and Adams–Bohart, were applied to experimental data to predict the breakthrough curves using linear regression and determine the characteristic parameters of the column. Error analysis was carried out to investigate the adequacy and accuracy of the model equations. Desorption study showed that the adsorbed ascorbic acid is readily eluted from the column using dilute solution of NaOH. PAN/SiO₂ was found to be a promising solid phase adsorbent to preconcentrate ascorbic acid from aqueous solutions and subsequent analysis.     

Phase behaviour modelling of Athabasca bitumen for in situ combustion applications

Phase behaviour modelling of reservoir fluid is a fundamental step for reservoir simulation. Furthermore, as the complexity of the recovery process increases, the fluid model plays a more important role in the reliability of the simulation outputs. Although the in situ combustion enhanced oil recovery method (ISC) is one of the most complex recovery techniques available in the petroleum engineering literature, for most of the simulation jobs related to this elaborate process only simple and rudimentary fluid characterization layouts are considered. In this work, the principal fluid properties of Athabasca bitumen with regard to the ISC process are recognized, extracted from the literature, validated for consistency, and used for the development of an inclusive and accurate fluid model. Then the fluid model is fully developed while considering the ISC reaction kinetics so that the model has both accuracy, indispensable for phase behaviour modelling, and consistency, essential for the reactions definitions.     

The odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells on hydroxyapatite-coated biodegradable nanofibrous scaffolds

The authors aimed to design nanofibrous (NF) scaffolds that facilitate odontogenic and osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp-derived mesenchymal stem cells (DPSCs) in vitro. For this purpose, hydroxyapatite (HA)–loaded poly (L-lactic acid)/poly (?-caprolactone) (PLLA:PCL 2;1) blend NFs were prepared using the electrospinning method. Alizarin red activity and cell viability were evaluated by MTT assay, and SEM revealed the proliferation properties of NF scaffolds. QRT-PCR results demonstrated that HA-loaded PLLA/PCL can lead to osteoblast/odontoblast differentiation in DPSCs through the up-regulation of related genes, thus indicating that electrospun biodegradable PCL/PLA/HA has remarkable prospects as scaffolds for bone and tooth tissue engineering.     

Buried Target Imaging: A Comparative Study

A wide variety of qualitative methods have been proposed for microwave imaging. It is difficult to select only one of these methods based on a priori information and measurement equipment to achieve a reliable reconstruction. Various arrangements for antennas to be used in, for instance, have been proposed which have direct impacts on the complexity of inverse methods as well as the quality of output images. In this study, four qualitative methods of the linear sampling method (LSM), time reversal (TR), diffraction tomography (DT), and back-projection (BP) have been reviewed in a 2D scenario; the performance of the methods is compared within the same framework of a multi-static configuration. The goal is to compare their resolutions and determine their advantages and drawbacks. It is shown that LSM provides the best azimuth resolution but the worst range resolution. It is almost invariant to dielectric contrast and is appropriate for a wide range of dielectric contrasts and relatively large objects. It is also shown that at relatively low dielectric contrasts, TR images are most similar to the true object, show fewer artifacts, and offer high immunity to noise. While suffering from more artifacts due to the presence of some ghost images, DT offers the best range resolution. The results also show that BP has the worst azimuth resolution when reconstructing deeply-buried targets, although its implementation is straightforward and not computationally complex.     

Pressureless sintering and mechanical properties of SiO2–Al2O3–MgO–K2O–TiO2–F (CaO–Na2O) machinable glass–ceramics

To develop a high strength machinable glass–ceramic through pressureless sintering, the glassy compositions were obtained by mixing a mica-based frit and a frit in the SiO₂–CaO–Na₂O system. According to XRD results, the glass compositions mainly crystallized into phlogopite and diopside after sintering. The optimum sintered glass–ceramic with desirable mechanical properties, machinability and sinterability was achieved by addition of 30 wt.% SiO₂–CaO–Na₂O glass powder to 70 wt.% mica glass composition. SEM results confirmed presence of needle-like diopside crystals which played a reinforcement role to the platelet phlogopite and glassy matrix combination. The measurements showed bending strength and fracture toughness enhanced up to 144.6 ± 17.6 MPa and 1.7 ± 0.2 MPa m^1/2, respectively.     

Composite wasteform based on SiO2–PbO–CaO–ZrO2–TiO2–(B2O3–K2O) parent glass with zircon as the second component

Many different types of glass and ceramic wasteforms have been investigated for nuclear waste immobilization. This study deals with synthesizing composite wasteforms based on a parent glass belonging to the SiO₂–PbO–CaO–ZrO₂–TiO₂–(B₂O₃–K₂O) system with the use of zircon as a second component. The fabrication involves powder mixing, pressing and pressureless sintering. The processing conditions were investigated so as to achieve the highest density and the best sintering temperature for different amounts of zircon, i.e. 5, 10 and 15 wt%. The sintered products were studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM); as well as ICP-MAS for leaching experiments. The most promising composite containing zirkelite and titanite crystals in a lead-rich glassy matrix was obtained at 700 °C for 10 wt% zircon.     

Cytotoxic Rhodium(III) and Iridium(III) Polypyridyl Complexes: Structure–Activity Relationships,Antileukemic Activity,and Apoptosis Induction

Whereas the cytostatic agents mer‐[RhX₃(DMSO)(pp)] (X=Cl, Br; pp=phen, dpq) are considerably more potent than their facial isomers, this order is reversed for the analogous kinetically more inert Ir^III polypyridyl complexes. The complexes induce specific apoptotic cell death in leukemia and lymphoma cells via the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway and cause negligible necrotic damage.

     

Computing the Szeged and PI Indices of VC5C7[p,q] and HC5C7[p,q] Nanotubes

In this paper we give a GAP program for computing the Szeged and the PI indices of any graph. Also we compute the Szeged and PI indices of VC₅C₇ [ p,q] and HC₅C₇ [ p,q] nanotubes by this program.     

Cell‐Selective,Apoptosis‐inducing Rhodium(III) Crown Thiaether Complexes

Half‐sandwich rhodium(III) polypyridyl (pp) complexes with the metal atom capped by the facial crown thiaether 1,4,7‐trithiacyclononane [9]aneS₃ represent a promising class of apoptosis‐inducing potent cytostatic agents. The necrotic damage caused by the complexes is negligible. In vitro cytotoxicity assays with the human cancer cell lines MCF‐7 and HT‐29 and immortalized HEK‐293 cells indicate that the dicationic κ²N(imino) complexes [([9]aneS₃)RhCl(pp)]²⁺ are much more active than monocationic complexes [([9]aneS₃)RhCl₂(L)]⁺ (L=imidazole, CH₃CN). Whereas the κ²N(amino) complex [([9]aneS₃)RhCl(piperazine)]²⁺ is inactive, replacing piperazine with the structurally analogous κ²S (thiaether) ligand 1,4‐dithiane restores cytotoxicity as evidenced by IC₅₀ values in the range 8.1‐11.6 μM . Spectroscopic (CD, UV/Vis, NOESY) and viscosity measurements indicate that the active dppz complex 8 (IC₅₀ values: 4.7–8.9 μM ) exhibits strong intercalative binding towards DNA whereas the even more potent bipyrimidine complex 9 (IC₅₀ values: 0.6–1.9 μM ) causes no alteration of the duplex B conformation. Weaker intercalative binding is observed for the dpq complex 7 . A comparative annexin V–propidium iodide binding assay with lymphoma (BJAB) cells and healthy leukocytes demonstrates that the cytotoxic activity of complex 8 and particularly complex 9 is highly selective towards the malignant cells.     

Highly Porous NiTi with Isotropic Pore Morphology Fabricated by Self-Propagated High-Temperature Synthesis

Highly porous NiTi with isotropic pore morphology has been successfully produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis of elemental Ni/Ti metallic powders. The effects of adding urea and NaCl as temporary pore fillers were investigated on pore morphology, microstructure, chemical composition, and the phase transformation temperatures of specimens. These parameters were studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Highly porous specimens were obtained with up to 83% total porosity and pore sizes between 300 and 500 μm in diameter. Results show pore characteristics were improved from anisotropic to isotropic and pore morphology was changed from channel-like to irregular by adding pore filler powders. Furthermore, the highly porous specimens produced when using urea as a space holder, were of more uniform composition in comparison to NaCl. DSC results showed that a two-step martensitic phase transformation takes place during the cooling cycles and the austenite finish temperature (A _f) is close to human body temperature. Compression test results reveal that the compressive strength of highly porous NiTi is about 155 MPa and recoverable strain about 6% in superelasticity regime.