Influence of Two Salicylate Components on the Particle Size of an Oil-in-Water Emulsion with Nonionic Surfactants

This paper reports a study undertaken using techniques of static and dynamic light scattering to investigate the influence of sodium salicylate and methyl salicylate on droplet size of oil-in-water emulsions. The rates of changes were measured by determining the size and distribution of the oil droplet in the material. All emulsions showed a bimodal size distribution; the mean diameters and polydispersity were calculated from intensity. These data were analyzed with nonlinear regressions and bootstrap methodology. An amount of methyl salicylate component induced a decrease of mean diameter and standard deviation. On the contrary, sodium salicylate entailed the growth of all droplet populations and coalescence for the highest concentration.     

Synthesis and testing of cellulose acetate nicotinate as adsorbent for rhodamine B dye

The esterification of cellulose hydroxyl groups with natural carboxylic acids in mild conditions represents an adequate pathway in obtaining cellulose derivatives with different useful properties. In this article, authors report the synthesis of new mixed ester of cellulose and cellulose acetate nicotinate (CAN) , in a homogenous medium using DMF as solvent, cellulose acetate (CA) as starting cellulosic material, and nicotinic acid as an esterification agent in the presence of p-toluenesulfonyl chloride and pyridine. FTIR and NMR techniques were used to prove the binding of nicotinoyl group at free hydroxyl groups of CA. The obtained CAN was electrospun by electrospinning technique to obtain adsorbent ultrafine fibers, evidenced by SEM images, with high specific surface area. Monolayer Langmuir and empirical Leundrich isotherms were used to assess the adsorption capacity for rhodamine B dye of electrospun CAN in comparison with that of electrospun CA used as starting material. Langmuir isotherm led to a better assessment of experimental data suggesting that the adsorption is mainly determined by hydrogen bonds formed between carboxylic OH hydrogen bonding donor and pyridine N hydrogen bonding acceptor. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47772.     

Structure,microstructure and electrical properties of Cu2+ doped (K,Na,Li)(Nb,Ta,Sb)O3 piezoelectric ceramics

This work studies the effects of copper doping on the properties of the (K_0.44Na_0.52Li_0.04)(Nb_0.86Ta_0.10Sb_0.04)O₃ piezoelectric ceramic material. Cu²⁺ incorporation into the perovskite structure produces a transformation of the crystalline lattice from tetragonal to orthorhombic symmetry together with an increase of the secondary phase. The grain size of the ceramic samples is increased due to the formation of a liquid phase during sintering, which increases with the Cu²⁺ content. EDS analysis reveals that the secondary-phase regions present a Cu and Nb-rich composition, indicating that the Cu-excess accommodates through the formation of this secondary phase. Cu-doping induces a rapid increase of the orthorhombic–tetragonal phase transition temperature, while the tetragonal–cubic phase transition temperature is decreased, the latter becoming more diffuse with the increase of Cu content. The piezoelectric properties of the material are reduced with the copper concentration, whereas the mechanical quality factor increases by a factor of nearly four.     

Co/SiO2 catalysts prepared from Co2(CO)8 for CO hydrogenation into alcohols and hydrocarbons: characterization by magnetic methods and temperature-programmed hydrogenation

The hydrogenation of carbon monoxide over Co/SiO₂ catalysts obtained by reduction of precursors prepared by the reaction of dicobaltoctacarbonyl with silica gives rise to a mixture of alcohols and hydrocarbons. The chain growth probability for hydrocarbon synthesis is similar to that observed over conventional catalysts prepared by the ammonia method (=0.74) with a comparable metal dispersion (metal particle size 4 nm). Alcohol formation yields a smaller chain growth probability (=0.42). Magnetic measurements have shown that in the latter catalyst, small cobalt clusters (1 nm) are likely to be present together with the cobalt particles (4 nm), this observation reconciles apparently conflicting results from the literature. It has been speculated that alcohol formation might be related to the presence of these clusters according to a concerted mechanism. Furthermore, the observation of large amounts of acetates by temperature-programmed hydrogenation, not detected in hydrocarbon selective catalysts, suggests that they may play a role in ethanol synthesis.     

Phase transition characteristics and dielectric properties of rare-earth (La,Pr, Nd,Gd) doped Ba(Zr0.09Ti0.91)O3 ceramics

A-site deficient rare-earth doped barium zirconate titanate (BZT) ceramics (Ba_1−yLn_2y/3)Zr_0.09Ti_0.91O₃ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Gd) are obtained by a modified solid-state reaction method. Perovskite-like single-phase compounds were confirmed from X-ray diffraction data. Morphological analysis on sintered samples shows that the addition of rare-earth ions inhibits the growth of the grain and remarkably changes the grain morphology. The effect of rare-earth addition to BZT on phase transition and dielectric properties is analyzed. A dramatic fall in the transition temperature occurs when BZT ceramic is doped with rare-earths. Moreover, diffusivity degree of the phase transition increases and a relaxor-type behaviour is induced due to both the increment of the lanthanide content and the increase of the ionic radius of the dopant element. High values of dielectric tunability are obtained for lanthanum doped BZT. A direct relation between transition temperature and tunability is discussed. Conclusively, low permittivity and high tunability materials can be obtained by the adequate substitution of rare-earths into BZT ceramics.     

Design of a General‐Purpose European Compound Screening Library for EU‐OPENSCREEN

This work describes a collaborative effort to define and apply a protocol for the rational selection of a general‐purpose screening library, to be used by the screening platforms affiliated with the EU‐OPENSCREEN initiative. It is designed as a standard source of compounds for primary screening against novel biological targets, at the request of research partners. Given the general nature of the potential applications of this compound collection, the focus of the selection strategy lies on ensuring chemical stability, absence of reactive compounds, screening‐compliant physicochemical properties, loose compliance to drug‐likeness criteria (as drug design is a major, but not exclusive application), and maximal diversity/coverage of chemical space, aimed at providing hits for a wide spectrum of drugable targets. Finally, practical availability/cost issues cannot be avoided. The main goal of this publication is to inform potential future users of this library about its conception, sources, and characteristics. The outline of the selection procedure, notably of the filtering rules designed by a large committee of European medicinal chemists and chemoinformaticians, may be of general methodological interest for the screening/medicinal chemistry community. The selection task of 200K molecules out of a pre‐filtered set of 1.4M candidates was shared by five independent European research groups, each picking a subset of 40K compounds according to their own in‐house methodology and expertise. An in‐depth analysis of chemical space coverage of the library serves not only to characterize the collection, but also to compare the various chemoinformatics‐driven selection procedures of maximal diversity sets. Compound selections contributed by various participating groups were mapped onto general‐purpose self‐organizing maps (SOMs) built on the basis of marketed drugs and bioactive reference molecules. In this way, the occupancy of chemical space by the EU‐OPENSCREEN library could be directly compared with distributions of known bioactives of various classes. This mapping highlights the relevance of the selection and shows how the consensus reached by merging the five different 40K selections contributes to achieve this relevance. The approach also allows one to readily identify subsets of target‐ or target‐class‐oriented compounds from the EU‐OPENSCREEN library to suit the needs of the diverse range of potential users. The final EU‐OPENSCREEN library, assembled by merging five independent selections of 40K compounds from various expert groups, represents an excellent example of a Europe‐wide collaborative effort toward the common objective of building best‐in‐class European open screening platforms.     

Effects of river regulation on the lower Ebro river (NE Spain)

The regulation of the Ebro River in the 1960s has changed the discharge pattern: spring floods have been reduced and, as the reservoirs are used for hydroelectrical purposes, discharge varies daily. The last 50 km of the river have been studied for two years (1986 and 1987). Our main purpose was to establish the particulate organic and inorganic transport of the river and its seasonal changes. Particulate material was sampled in surface and deep waters. Water conductivity ranges between 0.9 and 53 mS, and anoxia is common in summer situations. Particulate C ranges between 1 and 3 mg l^?1 with higher values in summer; particulate N is very similar along the year with values between 0.1 and 0.5 mg l^?1. Effects of regulation seem to be important in supplying very high nutrient content to algae and producing a high biomass and production in the lower part of the river, especially in summer. Diatoms and Chlorophyta are the most abundant groups. Phosphorus is higher than 5 μmol l^?1, with lower values in summer. Most of particulate material is very fine (between 0.45 and 50 μm). The high biomass also explains the presence of abundant filter-feeders, such as Hydropsyche and Ephoron virgo. In some parts, where light reaches the bottom, stones and boulders are covered by Cladophora. In this case, grazers such as the gastropods Melanopsis and Theodoxus are abundant.     

The supraependymal cells of the rat hypothalamus: changes in their morphology and cell number during the ovarian cycle

The number of SEC in the hypothalamus of the rat change during the ovarian cycle (5-8 cells in oestrus, 100 cells in dioestrus per ventricular surface). The changes in the number as well the morphology of the SEC support the hypothesis that they are of mesenchymal nature.