Evaluation of lead exposure in workers at secondary lead smelters in South Korea: with focus on activity of erythrocyte pyrimidine 5'-nucleotidase (P5N)

To evaluate lead exposure among secondary lead-smelting workers with a focus on erythrocyte pyrimidine 5'-nucleotidase (P5N) activity, blood lead concentration (PbB), activity of P5N and other biological variables were examined in 88 exposed workers in five secondary lead smelters and in 24 non-exposed workers in Korea. All of the mean values of air lead concentration (PbA) in the three processes, scrap pretreatment, blast furnace smelting, and refining and casting of the secondary lead smelters, markedly exceeded 0.05 mg/m3. In this survey, 29 (97%) of 30 air samples for lead exceeded 0.05 mg/m3. The highest mean PbA and PbB values were found in the section of blast furnace smelting. All of the mean PbB values in all the sections were higher than 30 microg/dl. PbB of 71 (81%) of the 88 exposed workers exceeded 30 microg/dl. In 31 (35%) of the exposed workers, PbB was above 60 microg/dl. Compared with the non-exposed group, zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) in the exposed group was significantly increased, whereas erythrocyte P5N activity and activity of erythrocyte delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) were significantly inhibited. Erythrocyte P5N activity had valid biological correlation with PbB and with other biological variables, such as ALAD activity or ZPP. Lead exposure affected hemoglobin levels via inhibition of P5N activity, as well as the heme biosynthetic pathway, in the high-exposure state.     

Decomposition of tetrafluorocarbon in dielectric barrier discharge reactor

The decomposition of CF₄ in dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure was examined. The effect of O₂ contents, N₂ contents, and total flow rate on CF4 conversion was experimentally investigated. The maximum conversion of CF₄ was about 87% at 5 kV, 15 kHz for the feed gas stream containing 5 sccm CF₄, 7.5 sccm O₂, and 187.5 sccm Ar. CO, CO₂, and COF₂ were the main products when O₂ was used as the additive gas. NO_x was produced when N2 was used as the additive gas. The conversion of CF₄ was increased while the applied voltage and the residence time were increased. When nitrogen was added to argon as the diluent gas, the conversion of CF₄ was decreased with the increase of the nitrogen content.     

Molecular inflammation hypothesis of aging based on the anti-aging mechanism of calorie restriction

Accumulating evidence strongly suggests that oxidative stress underlies aging processes. Research provides consistent evidence that calorie restriction (CR) reduces age-related oxidative stress and has anti-inflammatory properties. However, information is lacking on the molecular mechanism that would better define the interrelation of reactive oxygen species and nitrogen species and the pro-inflammatory states of the aging process. In this review, the biochemical and molecular bases of the inflammatory process in the aging process are analyzed to delineate the molecular inflammation hypothesis of aging. The key players involved in the proposed hypothesis are the age-related upregulation of NF-kappa B, IL-1 beta, IL-6, TNFalpha, cyclooxygenase-2, and inducible NO synthase, all of which are attenuated by CR. Furthermore, age-related NF kappa B activation is associated with phosphorylation by I kappa B kinase/NIK and MAPKs, while CR blocked these activation processes. The modulation of these factors provides molecular insights of the anti-inflammatory action of CR in relation to the aging process. Based on available finding and our recent supporting evidence, we prefer to use "molecular inflammation" to emphasize the importance of the molecular reaction mechanisms and their aberrance, predisposing to fully expressed chronic inflammatory phenomena. It was further proposed that CR's major force of the regulation of redox-sensitive inflammation may well be its life-prolonging action.     

Surface Modification of Sericite Using TiO2 Powders Prepared by Alkoxide Hydrolysis: Whiteness and SPF Indices of TiO2-Adsorbed Sericite

Titania (TiO₂) powders have been prepared from the 0.025-M titanium isopropoxide/ethanol solution and the 0.5-M distilled water/ethanol solution. The prepared TiO₂ powders showed an anatase phase and a rutile phase after heat treatment at 500°C for 2 h and 1000°C for 2 h, respectively. The heterocoagulation adsorption between TiO₂ powder and sericite surface in water was achieved in the range of pH 3.63.7 (where this pH range shows a maximum Zeta-potential difference for two powders). On the other hand, an anomalous transformation behavior appeared in the TiO₂-adsorbed sericite after heat treatment at 1000°C. The surface modification of sericite through the TiO₂-adsorption improved the whiteness as well as the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) indices.     

Spatiospectral transmission of a plane-mirror Fabry-Perot interferometer with nonuniform finite-size diffraction beam illuminations

The transmission of a plane-mirror Fabry-Perot (PFP) interferometer is theoretically modeled and investigated by treating the spatial and spectral features in a unified manner. A spatiospectral transfer function is formulated and utilized to describe the beam propagation and the multiple-beam interference occurring in an ideal one-dimensional strip PFP interferometer with no diffraction loss. The spatial-frequency filtration of a finite-size beam input not only determines the transmitted spatial beam profile but also plays a crucial role in affecting the overall spectral transmittance. The inherent deviations of the spectral transmittance from what we know as the standard Airy's formula are revealed in diverse aspects, including the less-than-unity peak transmittance, the displacement of a resonance peak frequency, and the asymmetric detuning profile. Our theoretical analysis extends to the misaligned PFP interferometers, such as the cases in which non-normal-incidence beams or wedge-aligned mirrors are used that could severely degrade the effective interferometer finesse.     

Nanoencapsulation of [60] fullerene by a novel sugar-based polymer

[60] Fullerene has been nanoencapsulated by the formation of an inclusion complex with a beta-cyclodextrin-containing lactose copolymer. The cyclodextrin polymer was synthesized by reaction of beta-cyclodextrin chlorotriazine with beta-lactose, and the polymer was highly soluble in water. Encapsulation of the carbon allotrope was achieved by forming a stable inclusion complex between the water-soluble cyclodextrin and [60] fullerene by a new synthetic procedure. Preliminary studies indicate that this complex has potential for biomedical applications because of its radical scavenging properties.     

Effects of mode mix upon fracture behavior of a solder joint

Results of fracture experiments of brass/solder/brass sandwich CTS (Compact Tension-Shear) specimens are presented together with observations of the crack propagation behavior and the fractographs. The fracture behaviors of the interface crack are analyzed by the finite element method with a modified boundary layer formulation. Several fracture mechanisms and the corresponding criteria are examined. And the crack growth behavior and fracture toughness are predicted. As the results various crack growth procedures such as the crack jump to another interface on the opposite side, the nucleation of a new crack far from the initial crack front, and the asymmetric relation of fracture toughness versus mode mix J _c– can be successfully explained. The fractographs, the crack growth behaviors, and stress-strain distribution along the interface are inter-related.     

Holographic optical elements recorded in silver halide sensitized gelatin emulsions. Part 2. Reflection holographic optical elements

Silver halide sensitized gelatin (SHSG) holograms are similar to holograms recorded in dichromated gelatin (DCG), the main recording material for holographic optical elements (HOEs). The drawback of DCG is its low energetic sensitivity and limited spectral response. Silver halide materials can be processed in such away that the final hologram will have properties like a DCG hologram. Recently this technique has become more interesting since the introduction of new ultra-fine-grain silver halide (AgHal) emulsions. In particular, high spatial-frequency fringes associated with HOEs of the reflection type are difficult to construct when SHSG processing methods are employed. Therefore an optimized processing technique for reflection HOEs recorded in the new AgHal materials is introduced. Diffraction efficiencies over 90% can be obtained repeatably for reflection diffraction gratings. Understanding the importance of a selective hardening process has made it possible to obtain results similar to conventional DCG processing. The main advantage of the SHSG process is that high-sensitivity recording can be performed with laser wavelengths anywhere within the visible spectrum. This simplifies the manufacturing of high-quality, large-format HOEs, also including high-quality display holograms of the reflection type in both monochrome and full color.     

Aspartame optical biosensor with bienzyme-immobilized eggshell membrane and oxygen-sensitive optode membrane

An aspartame optical biosensor has been fabricated by employing a bienzyme system composed of alpha-chymotrypsin and alcohol oxidase immobilized onto an eggshell membrane and an oxygen-sensitive optode membrane as the transducer. The detection schemes involve the enzymatic reactions of aspartame leading to the depletion of the oxygen level of the medium with a concomitant enhancement of the fluorescence intensity of the oxygen-sensitive membrane. The scanning electron and transmission electron micrographs show the microstructure of the eggshell membrane which is successfully immobilized with bienzyme. Using this novel immobilization technique, the aspartame biosensor shows extremely good stability with a shelf life of at least 8 months. The rate change of the fluorescence intensity in 4 min is found to be linearly related to the concentration of aspartame. The useful analytical working range of the biosensor is from 0.056 to 3.07 mM aspartame. The effects of temperature, pH, and ionic strength on the response of the aspartame biosensor are investigated in detail. Citric acid, cyclamic acid, D-fructose, D-galactose, D-glucose, hydrogen peroxide, DL-malic acid, L-phenylalanine, saccharin, sodium benzoate, and sucrose show no interferences but ethanol interferes strongly. The aspartame biosensor has been applied to determine aspartame contents in some commercial products.     

Volumetric modification of solid CAD models independent of design features

When feature information is lost during a data transfer, the advantage of feature-based modeling becomes invalid. After that, even a small modification for a feature of the model becomes purely dependent on geometric and topological manipulations. The existing methods for the local modifications such as moving and tapering faces basically make use of ‘tweaking’, which is the technique to replace the surface of a face with different one. However, tweaking is limited to the modifications that do not involve topological changes in the model. Due to this limitation, tweaking does not work properly when local modifications involve topological changes. In this paper, a new volumetric method for the local modification for 3D CAD models is presented. This method can handle local modification involving topological changes by first separating the volume of feature from the model using the volume decomposition, and then uniting the modified feature with the model.