Improvement of light fastness of water‐based printing inks with addition of glycerol derivative containing thiol groups

The aim of this work was to study the influence of a glycerol derivative with thiol groups, 3,6‐dithia‐1,8‐octanediol (DTO), on light fastness of prints overprinted with water‐based flexographic printing inks. Laboratory printing was performed on various plastic films (BOPP and PE). The effect of a small amount of DTO on printing ink colour was examined by studying the optical density of a full tone area, relative printing contrast and the colour values (CIELAB), and the total colour difference, . Artificial ageing was applied in order to investigate DTO influence on colourfastness of CMY printing inks. Densitometry and spectrophotometric parameters were measured during artificial ageing by irradiation. Additionally, FTIR spectroscopy was used to observe the changes in ink film on printing bases before and after ageing. The print quality of investigated prints is widely discussed. In general, DTO addition influenced the printability of the plastic film and the optical density of a full tone area with an acceptable total colour difference . Furthermore, printing inks with added DTO exhibited higher optical density and smaller changes of during artificial ageing. Moreover, the FTIR spectra of printing ink films with added DTO after ageing did not exhibit any perceptible changes in contrast with the original printing ink.     

Acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) oligomerization of divinyltetramethyldisiloxane in the presence of rhodium and ruthenium complexes

Acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization of divinyltetramethyldisiloxane in the presence of rhodium [RhCl(COD)]₂ and ruthenium RuCl₂(PPh₃)₃ catalysts led predominantly to linear oligomers [M _n=1815,M _w/M _n=1.16] if the rhodium catalyst was used or to mixtures of dimeric and trimeric oligomers if the ruthenium complex was applied. The rhodium complex appeared to be the first effective catalyst for ADMET polymerization of divinyldisubstituted organosilicon compounds.Part 14 in the series Metathesis of Silicon-Containing Olefins: for Part 13, see Ref. 8.     

Thermal parametric imaging in the evaluation of skin burn depth

The aim of this paper is to determine the extent to which infrared (IR) thermal imaging may be used for skin burn depth evaluation. The analysis can be made on the basis of the development of a thermal model of the burned skin. Different methods such as the traditional clinical visual approach and the IR imaging modalities of static IR thermal imaging, active IR thermal imaging and active-dynamic IR thermal imaging (ADT) are analyzed from the point of view of skin burn depth diagnostics. In ADT, a new approach is proposed on the basis of parametric image synthesis. Calculation software is implemented for single-node and distributed systems. The properties of all the methods are verified in experiments using phantoms and subsequently in vivo with animals with a reference histopathological examination. The results indicate that it is possible to distinguish objectively and quantitatively burns which will heal spontaneously within three weeks of infliction and which should be treated conservatively from those which need surgery because they will not heal within this period.     

Application of linear discriminant analysis in prostate cancer research by synchrotron radiation-induced X-ray emission

The ability to visualize an object of interest is one of the cornerstones of advancement in science. For this reason, synchrotron radiation-induced X-ray emission (micro-SRIXE) holds special promise as a imaging technique in structural biology, biochemistry, and medicine. It gives the possibility to image concentration of most of the elements in a sample at high space resolution. Statistical analysis of data obtained for samples of prostate tissues in an experiment at L-beam line HASYLAB (Hamburg, Germany) is presented in this paper. The regions for the measurements were selected according to the histological view of the sample. By histological examination, samples were divided into five groups (from healthy to Gleason4, most advanced stage of cancerogenesis). Data obtained in micro-SRIXE experiments on prostate cancer samples provide information about concentrations of certain elements in these groups. The rising problem is to find out concentrations of which elements allow the researcher to discriminate between different (early mentioned) groups. Linear discriminant analysis, a basic technique for feature extraction, was used in statistical analysis of the data. Our results indicate that the use of synchrotron radiation and discriminant analysis in the study of prostate cancer tissues provide information that can be key to better understanding of biomolecular functions.     

Grundwasserbeeinflussung durch ein Bauwerk

Influence of a building on groundwater. Old and historic buildings very often are founded on wooden piles. There are records that long lasting lowering of ground water table caused damages of those historic buildings. For this case study an old town of Landshut in Bavaria was taken with the historic 600 years old city. A project was put foreword to build up a shopping center. To construct the center it was necessary lower the ground water table down by 8 meters, over a large area, close to the river. Municipalities ask the investors to evaluate the filtration flow pattern changes due to this construction and to prove that the future groundwater management diminishes future foundation damages. Hydrogeological investigations were proceeded to analyse filtration in this area. A mathematical model was applied to predict the groundwater table changes and the relevant flow pattern changes. Based upon that model results an engineering measures were proposed to minimize the influence of the construction of shopping center to the existing old buildings. The paper presents the verification of the mathematical model, it's application to appropriate engineering solutions and results of field measurements after the end of building phase.     

Ceruloplasmin as Redox Marker Related to Heart Failure Severity

This study examined ceruloplasmin levels in patients with HFrEF, depending on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters; a correlation was found between ceruloplasmin (CER) and iron and hepatic status, inflammatory and redox biomarkers. A group of 552 patients was divided according to Weber’s classification: there were 72 (13%) patients in class A (peak VO₂ > 20 mL/kg/min), 116 (21%) patients in class B (peak VO₂ 16–20 mL/kg/min), 276 (50%) patients in class C (peak VO₂ 10–15.9 mL/kg/min) and 88 (16%) patients in class D (peak VO₂ < 10 mL/kg/min). A higher concentration of CER was found in patients with peak VO₂ < 16 mL/kg/min and VE/CO₂ slope > 45 compared to patients with VE/CO₂ slope < 45 (escectively CER 30.6 mg/dL and 27.5 mg/dL). A significantly positive correlation was found between ceruloplasmin and NYHA class, RV diameter, NT-proBNP, uric acid, total protein, fibrinogen and hepatic enzymes. CER was positively correlated with both total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde. A model constructed to predict CER concentration indicated that TOS, malondialdehyde and alkaline phosphatase were independent predictive variables (R² 0.14, p < 0.001). CER as a continuous variable was an independent predictor of pVO₂ ≤ 12 mL/kg/min after adjustment for sex, age and BMI. These results provide the basis of a new classification to encourage the determination of CER as a useful biomarker in HFrEF.     

Heat transfer correlations and NTU number for the longitudinal flow spiral recuperators

This paper reports experimental data for heat transfer in a longitudinal flow spiral recuperator. The primary measurements include flow rates as well as the inlet and outlet fluid temperature values for each fluid stream. The results of the experimental study are presented in a dimensionless form. The problem of determining correlations for average heat transfer coefficients is formulated as a parameter estimation problem, by selecting the functional form for the Nusselt number. The non-linear problem is solved using the least-squares estimation method. The results presented in this paper provide data for the longitudinal flow spiral recuperators application design.     

Ammonia chemistry in a flameless jet

In this paper, the nitrogen chemistry in an ammonia (NH₃) doped flameless jet is investigated using a kinetic reactor network model. The reactor network model is used to explain the main differences in ammonia chemistry for methane (CH₄) containing fuels and methane-free fuels. The chemical pathways of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) formation and destruction are identified using rate-of-production analysis. The results show that in the case of natural gas, ammonia reacts relatively late at fuel lean condition leading to high NO_x emissions. In the pre-ignition zone, the ammonia chemistry is blocked due to the absence of free radicals which are consumed by methane-methyl radical (CH₃) conversion. In the case of methane-free gas, the ammonia reacted very rapidly and complete decomposition was reached in the fuel rich region of the jet. In this case the necessary radicals for the ammonia conversion are generated from hydrogen (H₂) oxidation.     

Can Gram-Negative Bacteria Develop Resistance to Antimicrobial Blue Light Treatment?

Antimicrobial blue light (aBL) treatment is considered low risk for the development of bacterial resistance and tolerance due to its multitarget mode of action. The aim of the current study was to demonstrate whether tolerance development occurs in Gram-negative bacteria. We evaluated the potential of tolerance/resistance development in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and demonstrated that representative Gram-negative bacteria may develop tolerance to aBL. The observed adaption was a stable feature. Assays involving E. coli K-12 tolC-, tolA-, umuD-, and recA-deficient mutants revealed some possible mechanisms for aBL tolerance development.     

Thymosin β4 Is an Endogenous Iron Chelator and Molecular Switcher of Ferroptosis

Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) was extracted forty years agofrom calf thymus. Since then, it has been identified as a G-actin binding protein involved in blood clotting, tissue regeneration, angiogenesis, and anti-inflammatory processes. Tβ4 has also been implicated in tumor metastasis and neurodegeneration. However, the precise roles and mechanism(s) of action of Tβ4 in these processes remain largely unknown, with the binding of the G-actin protein being insufficient to explain these multi-actions. Here we identify for the first time the important role of Tβ4 mechanism in ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, which leads to neurodegeneration and somehow protects cancer cells against cell death. Specifically, we demonstrate four iron²⁺ and iron³⁺ binding regions along the peptide and show that the presence of Tβ4 in cell growing medium inhibits erastin and glutamate-induced ferroptosis in the macrophage cell line. Moreover, Tβ4 increases the expression of oxidative stress-related genes, namely BAX, hem oxygenase-1, heat shock protein 70 and thioredoxin reductase 1, which are downregulated during ferroptosis. We state the hypothesis that Tβ4 is an endogenous iron chelator and take part in iron homeostasis in the ferroptosis process. We discuss the literature data of parallel involvement of Tβ4 and ferroptosis in different human pathologies, mainly cancer and neurodegeneration. Our findings confronted with literature data show that controlled Tβ4 release could command on/off switching of ferroptosis and may provide novel therapeutic opportunities in cancer and tissue degeneration pathologies.