Polymeric micelles based on hyaluronic acid and phospholipids: Design,characterization, and cytotoxicity

Novel amphiphilic copolymers were synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR using Hyaluronic acid (HA) as a hydrophilic part and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) including 1,2‐dimiristoyl‐sn‐glycerol‐3‐phosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE) and 1,2‐distearoyl‐sn‐glycerol‐3‐phosphatidylethanolamine (DSPE) as a hydrophobic segment. The newly developed HA‐PE copolymers form a micelle in an aqueous media. The micellar properties, including critical micelle concentration (CMC) with pyrene as a fluorescence probe and micelle morphology, using transmission electron microscopy were assessed. It was found that the CMC values for HA‐DMPE and HA‐DSPE were 15.5 and 13.4 μg/mL, respectively. Also micelles were spherical in shape and within the size range of 162–214 nm. The solubility of cholesterol, a highly hydrophobic compound, was enhanced to 0.25 mg/mL which is much higher than it is in water (0.0001 mg/mL). In vitro cytotoxicity assay of HA‐PE copolymers showed no toxicity on human breast cancer cell line (MCF‐7). These results suggest that HA‐PE micelles could be considered as a promising carrier for delivery of hydrophobic compounds. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40944.     

Synbiotic Food Consumption Reduces Levels of Triacylglycerols and VLDL,but not Cholesterol,LDL, or HDL in Plasma from Pregnant Women

To our knowledge, no reports are available indicating the effects of synbiotic food consumption on blood lipid profiles and biomarkers of oxidative stress among pregnant women. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of daily consumption of a synbiotic food on blood lipid profiles and biomarkers of oxidative stress in pregnant women. This randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial was performed among 52 primigravida pregnant women, aged 18 to 35-year-old at their third trimester. After a 2-week run-in period, subjects were randomly assigned to consume either a synbiotic (n = 26) or control food (n = 26) for 9 weeks. The synbiotic food consisted of a probiotic viable and heat-resistant Lactobacillus sporogenes (1 × 10⁷ CFU) and 0.04 g inulin (HPX)/g as the prebiotic. Patients were asked to consume the synbiotic and control foods two times a day. Biochemical measurements including blood lipid profiles, plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total glutathione (GSH) were conducted before and after 9 weeks of intervention. Consumption of a synbiotic food for 9 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in serum TAG (P = 0.04), VLDL (P = 0.04) and a significant rise in plasma GSH levels (P = 0.004) compared to the control food. No significant effects of the synbiotic food consumption on serum TC, LDL, HDL and plasma TAC levels (P > 0.05) were observed. Trial registry code: http://www.irct.ir. IRCT201212105623N3.     

Preparation and characterization of nanocomposite heterogeneous cation exchange membranes modified by silver nanoparticles

We prepared polyvinylchloride based nanocomposite heterogeneous cation exchange membranes by solution casting technique using cation exchange resin powder as functional groups agent and tetrahydrofuran as solvent. Silver nanoparticles were also used as fillers in membrane fabrication. The effect of silver nanoparticles concentration in casting solution on membrane physico/chemical and antibacterial characteristics was studied. The SEM images showed compact structure for the modified membranes. X-ray diffraction results also revealed that membrane crystallinity was clearly changed by increase of nanoparticle concentration. Membrane selectivity and transport number were enhanced initially by increase in nanoparticle content up to 4%wt in prepared membrane, and then showed decreasing trend by more increase in additive concentration from 4 to 8%wt. Selectivity and transport number were enhanced another time by further increase in nanoparticle loading ratio from 8 to 16%wt. Opposite trend was found for the membranes’ average grain size by variation in additive content. Ionic flux was also clearly enhanced by using Ag nanoparticles in membrane matrix. Moreover, modified membranes showed good ability in decrease of Escherichia coli growth rate.     

Effective diffusivity in a structured packed column: Experimental and Sherwood number correlating study

Mass transfer coefficients along a structured packed column were experimentally determined to obtain a new correlation for dispersed phase Sherwood number based on molecular diffusivity. Then in a comparative investigation, the correlation was re-established based on effective diffusivity. The applied chemical systems were toluene/acetic acid/water (T/A/W) and butyl acetate/acetic acid/water (B/A/W). The effects of droplet size and packing height on experimental Sherwood number were also discussed. It was shown that local Sherwood number could be increased up to 188% with increasing the droplet size from 6 to 9 mm in fixed dispersed phase flow rate. It was also observed that when height of packing increased from 10 to 40 cm, local Sherwood number decreased by almost 48% for constant dispersed phase flow rate. The results have shown that the proposed correlation based on effective diffusivity can estimate the experimental drop Sherwood number with high accuracy (error of less than 5%). Moreover, current research shows that replacing molecular with effective diffusivity in some theoretical models can correct their estimation.     

Evolving an accurate model based on machine learning approach for prediction of dew-point pressure in gas condensate reservoirs

Over the years, accurate prediction of dew-point pressure of gas condensate has been a vital importance in reservoir evaluation. Although various scientists and researchers have proposed correlations for this purpose since 1942, but most of these models fail to provide the desired accuracy in prediction of dew-point pressure. Therefore, further improvement is still needed. The objective of this study is to present an improved artificial neural network (ANN) method to predict dew-point pressures in gas condensate reservoirs. The model was developed and tested using a total set of 562 experimental data point from different gas condensate fluids covering a wide range of variables. After a series of optimization processes by monitoring the networks performance, the best network structure was selected. This study also presents a detailed comparison between the results predicted by this ANN model and those of other universal empirical correlations for estimation dew-point pressure. The results showed that the developed model outperforms all the existing methods and provides predictions in acceptable agreement with experimental data. Also it is shown that the improved ANN model is capable of simulating the actual physical trend of the dew-point pressure versus temperature between the cricondenbar and cricondenterm on the phase envelope. Finally, an outlier diagnosis was performed on the whole data set to detect the erroneous measurements from experimental data.     

Optimization of the magnetic properties and microstructure of Co–La substituted strontium hexaferrite by varying the production parameters

The aim of this paper was to improve the magnetic properties of magnetoplumbite-type (M-type) strontium hexaferrite substituted with Co²⁺–La³⁺ produced by conventional ceramic forming techniques. The effect on the magnetic properties of varying the composition of the target compound Sr_1−xLa_xFe_12−yCo_yO₁₉ and the primary and secondary firing temperatures was investigated. Microstructure studies and XRD phase analysis indicated that optimum values of the remanent magnetization B_r and coercive field H_cj were obtained with a primary firing temperature of 1240 °C and a final firing temperature of 1180 °C, where (x=y)_th ¹=0.15, (y/x)_exp ²=0.75 and the molar ratio of ferric oxide to strontium oxide=5.8. The optimized magnetic properties obtained under these conditions were B_r=4070 Gs, H_cj=4710 Oe, (H_k/H_cj)=82.     

Investigation of α‐iron oxide‐coated polymeric nanocomposites capacity for efficient heavy metal removal from aqueous solution

In the present study, PS@α‐Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites were prepared by chemical microemulsion polymerization approach and the ability of magnetic beads to remove Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions in a batch media was investigated. Various physico‐chemical parameters such as pH, initial metal ion concentration, temperature, and equilibrium contact time were also studied. Adsorption mechanism of Cu²⁺ ions onto magnetic polymeric adsorbents has been investigated using Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips and Redlich–Petersen isotherms. The results demonstrated that the PS@α‐Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite is an effective adsorbent for Cu²⁺ ions removal. The Sips adsorption isotherm model (R² > 0.99) was more in consistence with the adsorption isotherm data of Cu(II) ions compared to other models and the maximum adsorbed amount of copper was 34.25 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics well fitted to a pseudo second‐order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH°, ΔS°, and ΔG°) were calculated from the temperature dependent sorption isotherms, and the results suggested that copper adsorption was a spontaneous and exothermic process. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2735–2742, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Dynamic analysis of combined system of framed tube and shear walls by Galerkin method using B‐spline functions

In this article, dynamic parameters (natural frequencies and mode shapes) of tall buildings that consist of framed tube and shear walls are obtained using a simple approximate method. The three‐dimensional structure is replaced by an equivalent cantilever beam, considering both bending and shear deformations. On the basis of dynamic equilibrium, the governing differential equation of motion is obtained and converted to its corresponding weak form. B‐spline functions are then utilized to approximate the weak form and to obtain the final matrix form of the problem. Finally, by applying essential boundary conditions, the natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes are calculated. To demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method, numerical examples are solved, and the results are compared with those obtained from SAP2000 computer analysis. The results show that the proposed method is efficient and accurate enough to be used in preliminary design. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Collapse behavior evaluation of asymmetric buildings subjected to bi‐directional ground motion

This paper discusses the collapse behavior of low‐rise plan‐asymmetric buildings under bi‐directional horizontal ground motions and utilizing strength and stiffness degrading nonlinear models. For this purpose, three‐dimensional three‐story and six‐story reinforced concrete frame buildings with uni‐directional mass eccentricities equal to 0% (symmetrical), 10%, 20% and 30% are subjected to nonlinear static (pushover) as well as incremental dynamic analyses using a set of far‐field two‐component ground motions and their performance are assessed on the basis of the safety margin against collapse and its probability of occurrence. Comparison of the collapse margin ratios as well as the fragility curves demonstrates significant reduction of the collapse‐level ground motion intensity with increasing eccentricity in plan. Results also indicate that current seismic design parameters including the response modification (R), overstrength (Ω) and ductility (μ) factors are not appropriate for buildings with high levels of plan eccentricity. Buildings with high values of plan eccentricity do not meet the design target life safety performance level on the basis of the calculated probability of collapse and safety margin against collapse. It appears that re‐evaluation of their design parameters is necessary. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.