A comparison of emulsifiers for the formation of oil-in-water emulsions: stability of the emulsions within 9 h after production and MR signal properties

Objective

To provide a basis for the selection of suitable emulsifiers in oil-in-water emulsions used as tissue analogs for MRI experiments. Three different emulsifiers were investigated with regard to their ability to stabilize tissue-like oil-in-water emulsions. Furthermore, MR signal properties of the emulsifiers themselves and influences on relaxation times and ADC values of the aqueous phase were investigated.

Materials and methods

Polysorbate 60, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and soy lecithin were used as emulsifiers. MR characteristics of emulsifiers were assessed in aqueous solutions and their function as a stabilizer was examined in oil-in-water emulsions of varying fat content (10, 20, 30, 40, 50%). Stability and homogeneity of the oil-in-water emulsions were evaluated with a delay of 3 h and 9 h after preparation using T₁ mapping and visual control. Signal properties of the emulsifiers were investigated by ¹H-MRS in aqueous emulsifier solutions. Relaxometry and diffusion weighted MRI (DWI) were performed to investigate the effect of various emulsifier concentrations on relaxation times (T₁ and T₂) and ADC values of aqueous solutions.

Results

Emulsions stabilized by polysorbate 60 or soy lecithin were stable and homogeneous across all tested fat fractions. In contrast, emulsions with SDS showed a significantly lower stability and homogeneity. Recorded T₁ maps revealed marked creaming of oil droplets in almost all of the emulsions with SDS. The spectral analysis showed several additional signals for polysorbate and SDS. However, lecithin remained invisible in ¹H-MRS. Relaxometry and DWI revealed different influences of the emulsifiers on water: Polysorbate and SDS showed only minor effects on relaxation times and ADC values of aqueous solutions, whereas lecithin showed a strong decrease in both relaxation times (r_1,lecithin = 0.11 wt.%⁻¹ s⁻¹, r_2,lecithin = 0.57 wt.%⁻¹ s⁻¹) and ADC value (Δ(ADC)_lecithin =  − 0.18 × 10^–3 mm²/s⋅wt.%) with increasing concentration.

Conclusion

Lecithin is suggested as the preferred emulsifier of oil-in-water emulsions in MRI as it shows a high stabilizing ability and remains invisible in MRI experiments. In addition, lecithin is suitable as an alternative means of adjusting relaxation times and ADC values of water.

     

Development of low-alcohol isotonic beer by interrupted fermentation

Alcohol-free beer with isotonic properties is getting more popular and its production can be carried out by different production strategies; however, interrupted fermentation is still a challenge. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a low-alcohol isotonic beer (<0.5% v/v) by interrupted fermentation. Moreover, the major objective is to compare the developed product to commercial beverages (sports drinks, ‘Pilsen' regular beer, alcohol-free beers and low-alcohol isotonic beer). The beverages were evaluated based on pH, alcohol content (% v/v), total titratable acidity (mEq L⁻¹), osmolality (mOsmol kg⁻¹), bitterness International Bitterness Units, colour European Brewery Convention, total phenolic compounds (mg L⁻¹ gallic acid), reducing and total sugars (%) and Na and K contents (mg L⁻¹). The developed low-alcohol isotonic beer presented characteristics similar to sports drinks, with the advantage of being richer in phenolic compounds and suitable osmolality. Despite salts were added in its formulation, the grades attributed to all beers employed in the sensory evaluation, as well as the purchase intention did not present significant differences.     

Microtubule Destabilizing Sulfonamides as an Alternative to Taxane-Based Chemotherapy

Pan-Gyn cancers entail 1 in 5 cancer cases worldwide, breast cancer being the most commonly diagnosed and responsible for most cancer deaths in women. The high incidence and mortality of these malignancies, together with the handicaps of taxanes—first-line treatments—turn the development of alternative therapeutics into an urgency. Taxanes exhibit low water solubility that require formulations that involve side effects. These drugs are often associated with dose-limiting toxicities and with the appearance of multi-drug resistance (MDR). Here, we propose targeting tubulin with compounds directed to the colchicine site, as their smaller size offer pharmacokinetic advantages and make them less prone to MDR efflux. We have prepared 52 new Microtubule Destabilizing Sulfonamides (MDS) that mostly avoid MDR-mediated resistance and with improved aqueous solubility. The most potent compounds, N-methyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methylaminobenzenesulfonamide 38, N-methyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methoxy-3-aminobenzenesulfonamide 42, and N-benzyl-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-4-methoxy-3-aminobenzenesulfonamide 45 show nanomolar antiproliferative potencies against ovarian, breast, and cervix carcinoma cells, similar or even better than paclitaxel. Compounds behave as tubulin-binding agents, causing an evident disruption of the microtubule network, in vitro Tubulin Polymerization Inhibition (TPI), and mitotic catastrophe followed by apoptosis. Our results suggest that these novel MDS may be promising alternatives to taxane-based chemotherapy in chemoresistant Pan-Gyn cancers.     

Effect of the Twisting Motion on the Nonunifornities of Transmyocardial Fiber Mechanics and Energy Demand A Theoretical Study

The contraction of the left ventricle (LV) is manifested by a distribution of strains and strain rates throughout the muscle thickness. Using a nested shell spheroidal model of the LV, which accounts for a fiber angle distribution from + 60°at the endocardium to ?60° at the epicardium, and the radial electrical activation pattern from the endocardium to the epicardium, it can be shown that endocardial layers undergo higher strains than the epicardial layers throughout the cardiac cycle, and higher length changes characterize the endocardial sarcomeres relative to the epicardial sarcomeres. However, the calculated nonuniformities in the sarcomeres' shortening are significantly moderated when the physiological twisting motion of the LV around the longitudinal axis is accounted for. Thus, the twisting motion of the heart is a basic mechanism by which the sarcomere function is maintained within its physiological range.     

Neurocontrol for lateral vehicle guidance

A solution to autonomous lateral vehicle guidance using a neurocontroller that can learn from measured human-driving data without knowledge of the physical car parameters is discussed. Simulations and practical tests confirm that a small-size feedforward autonomous neural network (21 neurons) can learn to steer a vehicle at high speeds only from looking at human-driving examples. In this way, the network learns the total closed-loop behavior, including the nonlinear dynamics of the vehicle and the driver's individual driving style. The main result of practical investigations is that the neutral controller trained on human-driving examples exhibits an aperiodic behavior that does not vanish at higher speeds (tests performed up to 130 km/h) and produces fewer lateral deviations than the linear state controller     

Evaluation and enhancement of COBRA-TF efficiency for LWR calculations

Detailed representations of the reactor core generate computational meshes with a high number of cells where the fluid dynamics equations must be solved. An exhaustive analysis of the CPU times needed by the thermal-hydraulic subchannel code COBRA-TF for different stages in the solution process has revealed that the solution of the linear system of pressure equations is the most time consuming process. To improve code efficiency two optimized matrix solvers, Super LU library and Krylov non-stationary iterative methods have been implemented in the code and their performance has been tested using a suite of five test cases. The results of performed comparative analyses have demonstrated that for large cases, the implementation of the Bi-Conjugate Gradient Stabilized (Bi-CGSTAB) Krylov method combined with the incomplete LU factorization with dual truncation strategy (ILUT) pre-conditioner reduced the time used by the code for the solution of the pressure matrix by a factor of 20. Both new solvers converge smoothly regardless of the nature of simulated cases and the mesh structures and improve the stability and accuracy of results compared to the classic Gauss–Seidel iterative method. The obtained results indicate that the direct inversion method is the best option for small cases.     

Small thermophotovoltaic prototype systems

In an earlier paper we reported on a small grid-connected thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system consisting of an ytterbia mantle emitter and silicon solar cells with 16% efficiency (under solar irradiance in standard test conditions, STCs). The emitter was heated up using a butane burner with a rated thermal power of 1.35 kW (referring to the lower heating value). This system produced an electrical output of 15 W, which corresponds to a thermal to electric (direct current) conversion efficiency of 1.1%. In the interim, further progress has been made, and significantly higher efficiencies have been achieved. The most important development steps are: (1) the infrared radiation-absorbing water filter between emitter and silicon cells (to protect the cells against overheating and against contact with flue gasses) has been replaced by a suitable glass tube. By doing this, it has been possible to prevent losses of convertible radiation in water. (2) Cell cooling has been significantly improved, in order to reduce cell temperature, and therefore increase conversion efficiency. (3) The shape of the emitter has been changed from spherical to a quasi-cylindrical geometry, in order to obtain a more homogeneous irradiation of the cells. (4) The metallic burner tube, on which the ytterbia emitter was fixed in the initial prototypes, has been replaced by a heat-resistant metallic rod, carrying ceramic discs as emitter holders. This has prevented the oxidation and clogging of the perforated burner tube. (5) Larger reflectors have been used to reduce losses in useful infrared radiation. (6) Smaller cells have been used, to reduce electrical series resistance losses. Applying all these improvements to the basic 1.35 kW prototype, we attained a system efficiency of 1.5%. By using preheated air for combustion (at approximately 370 °C), 1.8% was achieved. In a subsequent step, a photocell generator was constructed, consisting of high-efficiency silicon cells (21% STC efficiency). In this generator, the spaces between the cells were minimized, in order to achieve as high an active cell area as possible, while simultaneously reducing radiation losses. This new system has produced an electrical output of 48 W, corresponding to a system efficiency of 2.4%. This is the highest-ever-reported value in a silicon-cell-based TPV system using ytterbia mantle emitters. An efficiency of 2.8% was achieved by using preheated air (at approximately 500 °C). An electronic control unit (fabricated of components with low power consumption, and including a battery store) was developed, in order to make the TPV system self-powered. This unit controls the magnetic gas supply valve between gas supply cylinder and burner as well as the high-voltage ignition electrodes. Both the control unit’s own power consumption and the battery-charging power are supplied directly by the TPV generator. A small commercial inverter is used to transfer excess power to the 230 V grid.