Recent Advances of Novel Proteinoids and Proteinoid Nanoparticles and Their Applications in Biomedicine and Industrial Uses

Proteinoids, thermal polymers composed of amino acids, discovered and studied by Fox, spontaneously self-assemble in spherical structures, microspheres, which Fox presented as the protocells of life. Fox's findings opened up a scope of applicable easy-to-make protein-like particles. In recent years, interest in proteinoids has increased among nanobiomedicine research workers. These structures are suitable for biomedical applications, due to their protein-like nature, biocompatibility, non-toxicity and safety. Several new proteinoids made of a specific selection of amino acids were introduced for biomedical and agricultural industries. Several proteinoids include specific additives polymerized within their backbone, providing special chracteristics for a specific application. These proteinoids, their corresponding nanoparticles and their diverse applications are presented here, primarily focusing on proteinoids for cancer diagnostics and therapy, cosmetic and anti-fog proteinoids.     

Performance of linear MMSE multiuser detection combined with a standard IS-95 uplink

Current implementation of IS-95 based systems is performance limited due to the use of a “conventional” detection scheme, which is susceptive to inter-user interference. We focus on the uplink, and try to examine the performance enhancement achieved by a suboptimal linear multiuser MMSE pre-filter, applied in front of the “standard” detection mechanism. We demonstrate the limitations of this relatively simple approach, and the constellations in which it may show improved performance. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fluridone adsorption–desorption on organo-clays

The adsorption–desorption of the herbicide fluridone on Na-montmorillonite and several organo-montmorillonite complexes was studied at a variety of loadings of the organic cation and pH levels. The aim was to find the organo-clay complex, which would be an optimal adsorbent for the hydrophobic fluridone. The organic cations studied were hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA), benzyltriethylammonium (BTEA), benzyltrimethylammonium (BTMA) and methylene blue (MB) at loadings equal to 25%, 50% and 100% of the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the clay-mineral. The adsorbed amount of fluridone increased several-fold when montmorillonite was preadsorbed by the organic cation HDTMA up to its CEC and with BTMA at a loading of 5/8 of the CEC. BTEA and MB did not improve the adsorption capacity of the clay for fluridone. The results suggest that interactions between the phenyl rings of the herbicide and that of a small organic cation are geometrically easier to establish than with a larger organic cation. A reduced interaction between the phenyl rings of MB and those of fluridone may account for the low affinity of fluridone adsorption on montmorillonite-MB. In all cases, fluridone adsorption increased with decreasing pH and reached 100% for pH 2.7. Protonation of fluridone molecules with decreasing pH would result in increased adsorption through cation exchange. Thus, by regulating the pH, complete fluridone adsorption can be achieved. Desorption isotherms demonstrate high degree of irreversibility of the adsorption–desorption process and suggest that strong binding mechanisms dominate the fluridone-clay and organo-clay interactions. The results for fluridone adsorption–desorption demonstrate that, for similar molecules, a clay-based slow release formulation can be designed by first lowering the pH.     

Collision with friction; Part B: Poisson’s and Stornge’s hypotheses

In Part B of this paper, planar collision theories, counterparts of the theory associated with Newton’s hypotheses described in Part A, are developed in connection with Poisson’s and Stronge’s hypotheses. First, expressions for the normal and tangential impulses, the normal and tangential velocities of separation, and the change of the system mechanical energy are written for five types of collision. These together with Routh’s semigraphical method and Coulomb’s coefficient of friction are used to show that the algebraic signs of the four parameters introduced in Part A span the same five cases of system configuration of Part A. For each, α determines the type of collision which once found allows the evaluation of the normal and tangential impulses and ultimately the changes in the motion variables. The analysis of the indicated cases shows that for Poisson’s hypothesis, a solution always exists which is unique, coherent and energy-consistent. The same applies to Stronge’s hypothesis, however, for a narrower range of application. It is thus concluded that Poisson’s hypothesis is superior as compared with Newton’s and Stronge’s hypotheses.     

Environmentally friendly slow release formulations of alachlor based on clay-phosphatidylcholine

A new clay-liposome complex was developed for reducing leaching of herbicides and contamination of groundwater. The liposomes were composed of the neutral and Environmental Protection Agency approved phospholipid phosphatidylcholine (PC). Adsorption of PC liposomes on the clay mineral montmorillonite could exceed the cation exchange capacity of the clay, and was well simulated by the Langmuir equation. X-ray diffraction results for 6 mM PC and 1.6 g/L clay (3 day incubation) yielded a basal spacing of 7.49 nm, which was interpreted as the formation of a supported planar bilayer on montmorillonite platelets. Fluorescence methods demonstrated structural changes which reflected adsorption of PC followed by loss of vesicle integrity as measured by the penetration of dithionite into the internal monolayer of fluorescently labeled liposomes, resulting in a decrease in fluorescence intensity to 18% of initial after 4 h. Energy transfer was demonstrated after 1 h from labeled liposomes to montmorillonite labeled by an acceptor. The neutral herbicide alachlor adsorbed on the liposome-clay complex, yielding a formulation of up to 40% active ingredient, and 1.6-fold reduction in herbicide release in comparison to the commercial formulation. Hence, the PC-montmorillonite complex can form a basis for environmentally friendly formulations of herbicides, which would yield reduced leaching.     

Aroused versus calm positive affects as predictors of lipids.

Objective: The authors hypothesized that high-pleasure low-arousal (HPLA) would predict a subsequent decrease of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TRI), as well as a subsequent increase of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The authors also hypothesized that high-pleasure high-arousal (HPHA) would have the opposite effects on these blood lipids, predicting a subsequent increase of LDL-C and TRI, and a decrease of HDL-C. Design: Participants were 990 male and 595 female apparently healthy employees who underwent a routine periodic health examination at two points in time, Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2), about 24 months apart. Data were analyzed separately for the men and women, and the authors controlled for possible confounders shown in past research to be implicated with hyperlipidemia. Main Outcome Measures: HPHA and HPLA were assessed based on the Job-Related Affective Well-Being Scale, while LDL-C, TRI, and HDL-C were assessed based on fasting blood samples. Results: For the men, support for our hypotheses was found relative to HDL-C and TRI. The authors did not find support for our hypotheses for thee women. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that for men, the two types of positive affects may have opposite physiological consequences with respect to subsequent changes in blood lipid levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensitivity of Optimum Workforce Size to Employee Absenteeism in Stochastic Workload Situations

This paper presents the results of a simulation model developed to explore the relationship between unit cost and a number of primary production variables for a large warehouse operation of a major national retailer. The output of the simulation model includes a plot of total cost per completed unit for each combination of workforce size. Results indicate that under the conditions studied the total cost per completed unit is not particularly sensitive to workforce size and absenteeism patterns, and therefore insensitive to traditional managerial measures (such as over-staffing) to reduce these unit costs. This result is counter-intuitive and leads to the conclusion that the “fine turning” of staff levels as currently being attempted is perhaps not necessary.     

Peer nomiations as a predictor of multistage promotions in a ramified organization.

Studied the validity of peer nominations (PNs) as a predictor of advancement in rank in the Israel Defense Forces on a population of 125 platoons encompassing 3897 soldiers. Results indicate that PNs obtained at early stages of training predicted promotion at several successive stages in the soldier's military career with a high degree of validity and correlations generally around .6 and .7. Predictions were valid for success within groups of different personnel, and with different purposes, and criteria for achievement. PNs were also found to contribute markedly to the predictive validity of conventional psychological screening measures, suggesting the value of combining psychometric and sociometric procedures for personnel selection. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)