Human-Induced Neural and Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Combined with a Curcumin Nanoconjugate as a Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

We currently lack effective treatments for the devastating loss of neural function associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). In this study, we evaluated a combination therapy comprising human neural stem cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-NSC), human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), and a pH-responsive polyacetal–curcumin nanoconjugate (PA-C) that allows the sustained release of curcumin. In vitro analysis demonstrated that PA-C treatment protected iPSC-NSC from oxidative damage in vitro, while MSC co-culture prevented lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in iPSC-NSC. Then, we evaluated the combination of PA-C delivery into the intrathecal space in a rat model of contusive SCI with stem cell transplantation. While we failed to observe significant improvements in locomotor function (BBB scale) in treated animals, histological analysis revealed that PA-C-treated or PA-C and iPSC-NSC + MSC-treated animals displayed significantly smaller scars, while PA-C and iPSC-NSC + MSC treatment induced the preservation of β-III Tubulin-positive axons. iPSC-NSC + MSC transplantation fostered the preservation of motoneurons and myelinated tracts, while PA-C treatment polarized microglia into an anti-inflammatory phenotype. Overall, the combination of stem cell transplantation and PA-C treatment confers higher neuroprotective effects compared to individual treatments.     

Comparison of relative viscosity measurement of polyvinylpyrrolidone in water by glass capillary viscometer and differential dual‐capillary viscometer

The relative viscosity (RV) of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with different molecular weights was measured with a glass capillary viscometer and with a differential dual‐capillary viscometer in water at different concentrations. For the differential dual‐capillary viscometer, RV increases with a decreasing flow rate, especially for high molecular weight PVP at a 1% concentration. A good agreement in the RV between the two methods can be obtained for PVP with different molecular weights and at various concentrations if an appropriate flow rate is selected for the differential dual‐capillary viscometer. Special precaution is needed when using the differential dual‐capillary viscometer to measure the viscosity of a pure solvent. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 1312–1315, 2002     

Edible films and coatings to prevent the detrimental effect of oxygen on food quality: Possibilities and limitations

Oxygen has a deleterious effect on the quality of a wide variety of food products. The application of edible films and coatings to food products represents a new approach to solve this problem. Edible films and coatings can include antioxidant agents in their formulation and at the same time, they represent a barrier to oxygen, which results in a better preservation of quality. The water activity of the product, as well as the ambient relative humidity, determines the antioxidant effect of films and coatings. This paper reviews the latest studies dealing with the effectiveness and application of antioxidant films and coatings.     

Matching a system behavior with a known set of models: A quadratic optimization‐based adaptive solution

The matching process between a time‐domain external behavior of a lumped single‐input single‐output dynamical system and a known set of linear continuous time‐invariant models is tackled in this paper. The proposed online solution is based on an adaptive structure detector, which in finite time locates in the known set of models the one corresponding to the observed external behavior; the detector results from the solution of a constrained quadratic optimization problem. The problem is expressed in terms of the time‐domain activity of a family of discriminating filters and is solved via a normalized gradient algorithm, which avoids mismatching due to the presence of structural zeros in the filters and can take into account band‐limited high‐frequency measurement noise. A failure detection problem concerning a simulated servomechanism is included in order to illustrate the proposed solution. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-Field Transitions in ErFe11Ti and HoFe11Ti Single Crystals

The magnetization of ErFe₁₁Ti and HoFe₁₁Ti single crystals was measured in pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T. A number of field-induced phase transitions were observed. The inter-sublattice molecular fields were found to be 60 T in ErFe₁₁Ti and 73 T in HoFe₁₁Ti.     

Influence of the final ethanol concentration on the acetification and production rate in the wine vinegar process

BACKGROUND: The acetification process needs an overall study of the variables influencing it in order to establish their optimum values. Based on industrial experience and available literature, including a recently proposed model by the authors, among the variables most strongly influencing the acetification process are the ethanol concentration at the time the reactor is unloaded, the unloaded volume and the loading rate. To ensure economically efficient industrial production of vinegar, and to check the predictions of the aforementioned model, the influence of the final ethanol concentration at unloading time on the mean acetification rate and on productivity has been studied in this work. RESULTS: An increase in the final ethanol concentration from 0.5 to 3.5% (v/v) increased the mean overall acetification rate and acetic acid production by 38 and 26%, respectively. The increase was established mainly during the loading phase. CONCLUSIONS: The final ethanol concentration is a key variable for process optimization. If a high rate is desired then a product containing much unused substrate will be obtained, which may be industrially unacceptable. These results suggest the necessity to investigate other possibilities when high values for yield and productivity must to be achieved. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry