Solubilization of unilamellar liposomes by betaine-type zwitterionic/anionic surfactant systems

The mechanisms governing the solubilizing interactions between zwitterionic/anionic mixed surfactant systems at different molar fractions of the zwitterionic surfactant (X_zwitter) and neutral or electrically charged unilamellar liposomes were investigated. The mixed systems were formed by N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethylbetaine and sodium dodecyl sulfate in the presence of piperazine-1,4-bis-(2-ethanesulfonic acid) buffer at pH 7.20. Unilamellar liposomes formed by egg phosphatidylcholine, in some cases together with stearylamine or phosphatidic acid, were used. Solubilization was detected as a decrease in static light-scattering of liposomes. Two parameters were regarded as corresponding to the effective surfactant/lipid molar ratios (Re) at which the surfactant system (i) saturated the liposomes, Re_sat, and (ii) led to a total solubilization of liposomes, Re_sol. From these parameters the bilayer/aqueous medium surfactant partition coefficients for the saturation (K_sat) and complete bilayer solubilization (K_sol) were determined. When X_zwitter was 0.40, The Re and K parameters showed a maximum, whereas the critical micellar concentration (CMC) of these systems exhibited a minimum, regardless of the electrical charge of bilayers. Given that the ability of the surfactant systems to saturate or solubilize liposomes is inversely related to the Re_sat and Re_sol parameters, these capacities appear to be directly correlated with the CMC of the mixed systems. The similarity of both K_sat and K_sol (particularly for X_zwitter=0.2–0.8) suggests that a similar partition equilibrium governs both the saturation and the complete solubilization of bilayers, the free surfactant concentration (S_a,S_b), remaining almost constant with similar values to the CMC for each mixed system studied.     

Seasonal differences in neonatal jaundice

Cytomegalovirus is the main agent of congenital viral infections. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of congenital cytomegalovirus infections of two groups of newborns of differing socioeconomic status. Cytomegalovirus was isolated from urine or oropharingeal secretions in 218 children born in a private clinic and 471 born in a public hospital. Positive viral isolates were confirmed with indirect immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies. Infection was detected in 12 children (1.82%), four coming from the private clinic (1.86%) and 8 coming from the public hospital (1.81%). Ninety two percent of infected children were asymptomatic. Urine and oropharingeal secretion samples had the same yield for viral isolation. It is concluded that the incidence of congenital cytomegalovirus infection is similar to that described in developed countries.     

Critical enhancement of the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section at low temperatures

As part of an 18-month carcinogenicity study, 680 Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) received daily gavage doses of fenazaquin, an experimental miticide. Mortality associated with severe enteritis was noticed beginning when the hamsters were 4 months old and ranged from one to five deaths per month until the hamsters were about 10 months old, when 41 deaths occurred in a 1-month period. Ante- and postmortem findings were consistent with those reported for antibiotic-induced enteritis in hamsters. Clostridium difficile was isolated from 12 of the 13 samples of cecal contents analyzed. Toxin assays of C. difficile isolates collected from 11 affected animals were positive for both cyto- and enterotoxins. Daily oral administration of vancomycin hydrochloride at a dose of 20 mg/kg was initiated when the hamsters were about 10 months old. Deaths due to C. difficile enteritis were significantly decreased within 2 weeks, and treatment was continued for 3 months. A trial withdrawal period for a subset of 64 hamsters (approximately 16% of the total population) was initiated to evaluate survival after discontinuation of the antibiotic treatment. Clostridium difficile enteritis recurred within 2 weeks and caused 19 deaths during the next month; therefore, these hamsters were returned to daily vancomycin treatment for the remainder of the study. With the exception of severe gaseous distention of the ceca, which caused death in 17 (< 4% of the total population) of the affected hamsters, vancomycin treatment did not cause any major adverse effects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Sustainable transport? RE supply options and resource potential for transportation

As the pace of life in the 21st Century continues to increase dramatically, mobility is now one of the defining characteristics of most societies. This has lead to more and more cars and, unfortunately, more and more pollution. Some way of providing sustainable transport has to be found and alternative energy supplies such as wind and solar will undoubtedly play a major part in providing the power for any such solution. Urs Muntwyler and Frans Koch, respectively chair and secretary of the IEA group, provide an overview of the general sustainable energy supply options for transportation and the resource potential of various forms of renewable energy.     

Synthesis method for testable electrical networks using 1st order building blocks

This work presents a method for synthesizing testable continuous-time linear time-invariant electrical networks using 1st order blocks for the implementation of analog linear circuits. A functional-structural fault model for the block, and a fault dictionary are proposed together with a simple set of test vectors. The method allows, also, the fault grade evaluation for the modeled faults. The results obtained from the two application examples have shown the suitability of the approach as a design for test method for analog circuits.