Variable temperature in situ X-ray diffraction study of mechanically activated synthesis of calcium titanate, CaTiO3

The effect of mechanical activation on formation of calcium titanate (CaTiO₃) from calcined mixtures of CaCO₃ and TiO₂ was studied by monitoring the course of this solid-state reaction by variable temperature in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dilatometry. Two equimolar mixtures of powdered CaCO₃ and TiO₂ were prepared: one was mechanically activated by grinding in a high energy vibro-mill. A total of 32 X-ray diffraction data sets for each sample, collected between 30 and 1100 °C, were analyzed by multiphase Rietveld refinement. Quantitative phase analysis and microstructure analysis obtained from X-ray diffraction are correlated to results of scanning electron microscopy and dilatometry. In the non-activated sample, small quantities of the reactants remain in the product until 1100 °C. In the activated sample, the reaction results in pure CaTiO₃ at 920 °C.     

Melt granulation in fluidized bed: a comparative study of spray-on versus in situ procedure

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of process parameters, binder content and binder addition method on characteristics of the granules obtained by melt granulation (MG) in fluidized bed.

Methods: Spray-on experiments were performed according to 2³ full factorial design. The effect of binder content, molten binder feed rate, and spray air pressure on granule size and size distribution, granule shape, ?owability and drug release rate was investigated. In the in situ experiments, the influence of binder particle size and binder content was evaluated. Solid-state characterization was performed by means of differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Results: Size of the granules obtained by spray-on procedure was significantly influenced by binder content and spray air pressure, while the width of particle size distribution was mainly affected by binder feed rate. Spray air pressure showed the most significant influence on granule shape. It was shown that smooth and spherical particles with good flow properties may be obtained by both procedures, spray-on and in situ MG. The results obtained indicated the influence of agglomeration mechanism on granule sphericity, with higher degree of granule sphericity observed when immersion and layering was the dominant mechanism. Paracetamol release from granulates was very rapid, but after compression of the granules into tablets, drug release was considerably slower. Solid-state analysis confirmed that the physical form of the granulate components remained unaffected after the MG process.

Conclusion: The results presented indicate that MG in fluidized bed could be a good alternative to conventional granulation techniques.     

Radon index of a local administrative unit

The determination of radon-prone areas is usually based on indoor radon data and on the prognosis of the occurrence of houses exceeding the action level. However, the sample of houses in the survey must be representative and large enough, which is not easy to fulfill. Despite this, the determination of localities with high radon risk is useful not only for planning of indoor radon surveys, but also mainly for predicting the risk in newly built houses. There exist two more sources of data that can be used when assigning radon-related index to territories: soil gas radon measurements and gamma dose rate maps, both having their own inaccuracies. An attempt has been made to combine Czech indoor radon data, soil gas radon data and gamma dose rate maps for municipalities, where available. The radon-related index has been constructed by means of statistical analysis (linear regression). The equations found can be used for predicting the radon risk of the municipalities where the data sets are not large enough.     

Radon programmes and health marketing

Being aware of negative health effects of radon exposure, many countries aim for the reduction of the radon exposure of their population. The Czech radon programme was commenced >20 y ago. Since then experts have gathered a lot of knowledge, necessary legislation has been enacted, tens of thousands of inhabitants have been offered free measurement and subsidy for the mitigation. Despite the effort, the effectiveness of the radon programme seems to be poor. Newly built houses still exhibit elevated radon concentrations and the number of houses mitigated is very low. Is it possible to enhance the effectivity of radon programme while keeping it on a voluntary basis? One possible way is to employ health marketing that draws together traditional marketing theories and science-based strategies to prevention. The potential of using marketing principles in communication and delivery of radon information will be discussed.     

Revealing the Changes in Saliva and Serum Proteins of Pigs with Meningitis Caused by Streptococcus Suis: A Proteomic Approach

Meningitis due to Streptococcus suis causes high mortality and morbidity on pig farms and has increasing zoonotic potential worldwide. Saliva proteome analysis would potentially be useful in elucidating pathophysiological changes and mining for new biomarkers to diagnose and monitor S. suis infection. The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in the salivary and serum proteome profile of piglets with meningitis. The LC-MS/MS TMT proteomic approach was used to analyze saliva and serum samples from 20 male piglets: 10 with meningitis and 10 healthy. In saliva, 11 proteins had higher and 10 had lower relative abundance in piglets with meningitis. The proteins with the highest relative abundance were metavinculin (VCL) and desmocollin-2 (DSC2). Adenosine deaminase (ADA) was selected for validation using a spectrophotometric assay and demonstrated excellent performance in the differentiation between healthy and pigs with meningitis due to S. suis. In serum, the most protruding changes occurred for one SERPIN and haptoglobin (HP). In saliva and serum, the highest number of proteins with altered abundance were linked, via the enrichment analysis, with platelet and neutrophil pathways. Overall, meningitis caused by S. suis resulted in specific proteome changes in saliva and serum, reflecting different pathophysiological mechanisms, and marking new potential biomarkers for this infection.     

Particle Size Modulates Silver Nanoparticle Toxicity during Embryogenesis of Urchins Arbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus

Silver nanoparticles represent a threat to biota and have been shown to cause harm through a number of mechanisms, using a wide range of bioassay endpoints. While nanoparticle concentration has been primarily considered, comparison of studies that have used differently sized nanoparticles indicate that nanoparticle diameter may be an important factor that impacts negative outcomes. In considering this, the aim of the present study was to determine if different sizes of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs; 10, 20, 40, 60 and 100 nm) give rise to similar effects during embryogenesis of Mediterranean sea urchins Arbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus, or if nanoparticle size is a parameter that can modulate embryotoxicity and spermiotoxicity in these species. Fertilised embryos were exposed to a range of AgNP concentrations (1–1000 µg L⁻¹) and after 48 h larvae were scored. Embryos exposed to 1 and 10 µg L⁻¹ AgNPs (for all tested sizes) showed no negative effect in both sea urchins. The smaller AgNPs (size 10 and 20 nm) caused a decrease in the percentage of normally developed A. lixula larvae at concentrations ≥50 µg L⁻¹ (EC₅₀: 49 and 75 μg L⁻¹, respectively) and at ≥100 µg L⁻¹ (EC₅₀: 67 and 91 μg L⁻¹, respectively) for P. lividus. AgNPs of 40 nm diameter was less harmful in both species ((EC₅₀: 322 and 486 μg L⁻¹, for P. lividus and A. lixula, respectively)). The largest AgNPs (60 and 100 nm) showed a dose-dependent response, with little effect at lower concentrations, while more than 50% of larvae were developmentally delayed at the highest tested concentrations of 500 and 1000 µg L⁻¹ (EC₅₀(100 nm); 662 and 529 μg L⁻¹, for P. lividus and A. lixula, respectively. While AgNPs showed no effect on the fertilisation success of treated sperm, an increase in offspring developmental defects and arrested development was observed in A. lixula larvae for 10 nm AgNPs at concentrations ≥50 μg L⁻¹, and for 20 and 40 nm AgNPs at concentrations >100 μg L⁻¹. Overall, toxicity was mostly ascribed to more rapid oxidative dissolution of smaller nanoparticles, although, in cases, Ag⁺ ion concentrations alone could not explain high toxicity, indicating a nanoparticle-size effect.     

Einflu? des Pectins auf die elektrokinetischen Eigenschaften von Pulpesuspensionen aus ?pfeln

Apple pulp suspensions to which different kinds of pectin in concentration up to 500 g.m^–3 was added were studied electrophoretically. It was shown that the natural pectin exerts an essential influence upon the adsorption ability of the pectin added, and upon the electrokinetic potential of the tissue particles respectively.

     

Synthesis and crystal structure of the singly tucked-in derivative of bis(phenyltetramethylcyclopentadienyl)titanium

Thermolysis of [TiMe₂(η⁵-C₅Me₄Ph)₂] (4) at 145 °C for 5 h afforded the singly tucked-in paramagnetic titanocene [Ti(III)(η⁵-C₅Me₄Ph){η⁵:η¹-C₅Me₃Ph(CH₂)}] (9). In distinction to the singly tucked-in permethyltitanocene [Ti(III)(η⁵-C₅Me₅){η⁵:η¹-C₅Me₄(CH₂)}] (1) which was found crystallographically disordered [J.M. Fischer, W.E. Piers, V.G. Young, Jr., Organometallics 15 (1996) 2410] the single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of 9 afforded molecular parameters with nearly by one order better precision as measured by esd-values.