Endotoxins associated with cyanobacteria and their removal during drinking water treatment

The aim of this study was to investigate endotoxin concentrations in cyanobacterial water blooms and strains, and to assess the removal of endotoxins during drinking water treatment. Endotoxin concentrations were measured from 151 hepatotoxic, neurotoxic and non-toxic cyanobacterial water blooms by using Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay, and the results were compared to bacterial data. Endotoxin activities ranged from 20 to 3.8 x 10(4) endotoxin units (EU) per ml. Endotoxicity of the samples correlated with phycobiliprotein concentration that was used to assess cyanobacterial abundance, heterotrophic plate count, and Aeromonas spp. but it did not correlate with the number of coliforms or streptococci. The high endotoxin concentrations occasionally detected in the water bloom samples were probably due to Gram negative bacteria that existed together with cyanobacteria since the 26 axenic cyanobacterial strains from different genera that were studied showed very low endotoxin activity. No differences in endotoxin activity were detected between hepatotoxic, neurotoxic and non-toxic strains. Removal of endotoxins during drinking water treatment was studied at nine waterworks that previously had been associated with high numbers of cyanobacteria and that used different processes for water purification. Endotoxin concentration in raw waters ranged from 18 to 356 EU ml(-1). The treatment processes reduced 59-97% of the endotoxin activity; in the treated water the concentration ranged from 3 to 15 EU ml(-1). The most significant reduction occurred at the early stages of water treatment, during coagulation, settling and sand filtration. Activated carbon filtration either increased or had no effect on endotoxin concentration. Ozonation and chlorination had little effect on the endotoxin concentrations.     

Room‐Temperature Micropillar Growth of Lithium–Titanate–Carbon Composite Structures by Self‐Biased Direct Current Magnetron Sputtering for Lithium Ion Microbatteries

Here, an unidentified type of micropillar growth is described at room temperature during conventional direct‐current magnetron sputtering (DC‐MS) deposition from a Li₄Ti₅O₁₂+graphite sputter target under negative substrate bias and high operating pressure. These fabricated carbon–Li₂O–TiO₂ microstructures consisting of various Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/Li₂TiO₃/Li_x TiO₂ crystalline phases are demonstrated as an anode material in Li‐ion microbatteries. The described micropillar fabrication method is a low‐cost, substrate independent, single‐step, room‐temperature vacuum process utilizing a mature industrial complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS)‐compatible technology. Furthermore, tentative consideration is given to the effects of selected deposition parameters and the growth process, as based on extensive physical and chemical characterization. Additional studies are, however, required to understand the exact processes and interactions that form the micropillars. If this facile method is further extended to other similar metal oxide–carbon systems, it could offer alternative low‐cost fabrication routes for microporous high‐surface area materials in electrochemistry and microelectronics.     

Parallel plate heat exchanger for heat energy recovery in a farm grain dryer

One of the methods with the most potential to reduce energy consumption in grain drying is heat recovery from the dryer exhaust air. A parallel plate heat exchanger to recover heat energy from the exhaust air of a recirculating batch grain dryer was examined by theoretical assessments as well as by measurements in a scaled-down research dryer and experimental heat exchanger. In addition to the heat transfer performance, the operability in dusty conditions was investigated. Finally, the optimization of the heat exchanger was introduced by the aid of the calculation models and practical measurement. The heat exchanger performed satisfactorily, providing an average energy saving of approximately 18%. A significant improvement in the performance could be achieved by increasing the air velocity. No severe dust accumulation was observed, and a heat exchanger of this type could provide remarkable energy saving possibilities in grain drying. Further tests are necessary to ensure the operability in long-term use.     

Characterization of High-Velocity Single Particle Impacts on Plasma-Sprayed Ceramic Coatings

High-velocity impact wear can have a significant effect on the lifetime of thermally sprayed coatings in multiple applications, e.g., in the process and paper industries. Plasma-sprayed oxide coatings, such as Cr₂O₃- and TiO₂-based coatings, are often used in these industries in wear and corrosion applications. An experimental impact study was performed on thermally sprayed ceramic coatings using the High-Velocity Particle Impactor (HVPI) at oblique angles to investigate the damage, failure, and deformation of the coated structures. The impact site was characterized by profilometry, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the connection between the microstructural details and impact behavior was studied in order to reveal the damage and failure characteristics at a more comprehensive level. Differences in the fracture behavior were found between the thermally sprayed Cr₂O₃ and TiO₂ coatings, and a concept of critical impact energy is presented here. The superior cohesion of the TiO₂ coating inhibited interlamellar cracking while the Cr₂O₃ coating suffered greater damage at high impact energies. The HVPI experiment has proven to be able to produce valuable information about the deformation behavior of coatings under high strain rates and could be utilized further in the development of wear-resistant coatings.     

Nanoparticle Deposition from Liquid Flame Spray onto Moving Roll-to-Roll Paperboard Material

Nanostructured coatings have been prepared on a flexible, moving paperboard using deposition of ca. 40-nm-sized titanium dioxide nanoparticles generated by a liquid flame spray process, directly above the paperboard, to achieve improved functional properties for the material. Properties such as surface wettability can be extensively improved by a thin layer of nanoparticles on the substrate. Owing to the vulnerability to heat, the substrate needs to be moved rapidly through the flame. This, on the other hand, generates a setting for a roll-to-roll coating process, which favors upscaling of the method. In this article, we characterize the flame process for nanoparticle coating and quantify the operational window for this method. The amount of deposited material as a function of substrate speed through the flame is discussed. Although the thermophoretic flux of nanoparticles is estimated to be very high from the hot flame onto the cold substrate, other factors were observed to limit the deposited amount of particles. Total mass yields of 5%–20% of the injected precursor material into the titanium dioxide nanocoating on the paperboard were achieved. With these yields, a highly hydrophobic surface was obtained by a mass loading of 10–50 mg/m² of titanium dioxide on the paperboard.     

para‐Substituted 2‐Phenyl‐3,4‐dihydroquinazolin‐4‐ones As Potent and Selective Tankyrase Inhibitors

Human tankyrases are attractive drug targets, especially for the treatment of cancer. We identified a set of highly potent tankyrase inhibitors based on a 2‐phenyl‐3,4‐dihydroquinazolin‐4‐one scaffold. Substitutions at the para position of the scaffold′s phenyl group were evaluated as a strategy to increase potency and improve selectivity. The best compounds displayed single‐digit nanomolar potencies, and profiling against several human diphtheria‐toxin‐like ADP‐ribosyltransferases revealed that a subset of these compounds are highly selective tankyrase inhibitors. The compounds also effectively inhibit Wnt signaling in HEK293 cells. The binding mode of all inhibitors was studied by protein X‐ray crystallography. This allowed us to establish a structural basis for the development of highly potent and selective tankyrase inhibitors based on the 2‐phenyl‐3,4‐dihydroquinazolin‐4‐one scaffold and outline a rational approach to the modification of other inhibitor scaffolds that bind to the nicotinamide site of the catalytic domain.     

Retrieval of the effective complex refractive index of Bruggeman nanoliquids from surface plasmon resonance reflectance using the maximum entropy method

We show that surface plasmon resonance reflectance measurement can be used to extract the effective complex refractive index of a Bruggeman nanoliquid, i.e. a solution consisting of spherical nanoparticles embedded into a host liquid such as water, using the maximum entropy method. This retrieval can be immediately performed once the optical properties of the host liquid are known. In this paper we investigate the upper limit of the volume fraction of spherical nanoparticles in a solution that still yields a reliable result in the retrieval based on the maximum entropy method. Finally, we show that by squeezing the spectrum we can significantly reduce the errors in the analysis and retrieve the effective complex refractive index for a high volume fraction of nanoparticles.     

Blood pressure-lowering properties of chokeberry (Aronia mitchurinii,var. Viking)

The blood pressure-lowering properties of lyophilized chokeberry juice and polyphenols were monitored using in vitro angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition measurement and a 10 day in vivo study with spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Juice and polyphenols indicated weak ACE-inhibitory activity. The IC₅₀ values for polyphenols and juice were 1.5–2.5 and 4.5 mg dry matter/ml, respectively. In the SHR study the blood pressure-lowering effects of juice and polyphenol extract seemed to be short-term and were generally highest after 3 h from administration (50 mg/kg/day) when mean reductions in systolic blood pressure were 20 ± 8 and 15 ± 7 mm Hg, respectively. Corresponding mean decreases in diastolic blood pressure were 23 ± 6 and 13 ± 2 mm Hg in juice and polyphenol groups, respectively. It was concluded that both chokeberry juice and polyphenols had blood pressure-lowering effects. We hypothesize that chokeberry polyphenols enhance endothelial nitric oxide production with an ACE-independent mechanism, e.g. by activation of endothelial nitric oxidase enzyme; this is yet to be verified.