Ionic liquids as modulators of fragrance release in consumer goods

When organic esters or alcohols were dissolved in each of three novel ionic liquids (which have no effective vapour pressure), the vapour–liquid equilibria (as measured by infrared spectroscopy of the gas phase) revealed significant positive deviation from Raoult’s law for a wide range of perfume raw materials. The addition of water amplified the repulsive effect of the ionic liquid matrix, and this was exemplified by a series of ternary phase diagrams

On neutron stars in ƒ (R) theories: Small radii, large masses and large energy emitted in a merger

In the context of ƒ (R) gravity theories, we show that the apparent mass of a neutron star as seen from an observer at infinity is numerically calculable but requires careful matching, first at the star’s edge, between interior and exterior solutions, none of them being totally Schwarzschild-like but presenting instead small oscillations of the curvature scalar R; and second at large radii, where the Newtonian potential is used to identify the mass of the neutron star. We find that for the same equation of state, this mass definition is always larger than its general relativistic counterpart. We exemplify this with quadratic R^2 and Hu-Sawicki-like modifications of the standard General Relativity action. Therefore, the finding of two-solar mass neutron stars basically imposes no constraint on stable ƒ (R) theories. However, star radii are in general smaller than in General Relativity, which can give an observational handle on such classes of models at the astrophysical level. Both larger masses and smaller matter radii are due to much of the apparent effective energy residing in the outer metric for scalar-tensor theories. Finally, because the ƒ (R) neutron star masses can be much larger than General Relativity counterparts, the total energy available for radiating gravitational waves could be of order several solar masses, and thus a merger of these stars constitutes an interesting wave source.

Carbon-supported ionic liquids as innovative adsorbents for CO2 separation from synthetic flue-gas

Fixed-bed thermodynamic CO2 adsorption tests were performed in model flue-gas onto Filtrasorb 400 and Nuchar RGC30 activated carbons (AC) functionalized with [Hmim][BF4] and [Emim][Gly] ionic liquids (IL). A comparative analysis of the CO2 capture results and N2 porosity characterization data evidenced that the use of [Hmim][BF4], a physical solvent for carbon dioxide, ended up into a worsening of the parent AC capture performance, due to a dominating pore blocking effect at all the operating temperatures. Conversely, the less sterically-hindered and amino acid-based [Emim][Gly] IL was effective in increasing the AC capture capacity at 353 K under milder impregnation conditions, the beneficial effect being attributed to both its chemical affinity towards CO2 and low pore volume reduction. The findings derived in this work outline interesting perspectives for the application of amino acid-based IL supported onto activated carbons for CO2 separation under post-combustion conditions, and future research efforts should be focused on the search for AC characterized by optimal pore size distribution and surface properties for IL functionalization.

Charge accumulation and transport in degenerately doped semiconducting polymers with mixed ionic and electronic conductivity

This thesis is part of the fields of Material Physics and Organic Electronics and aims to determine the charge carrier density and mobility in the hydrated conducting polymer–polyelectrolyte blend PEDOT:PSS. This kind of material combines electronic semiconductor functionality with selective ionic transport, biocompatibility and electrochemical stability in water. This advantageous material properties combination makes PEDOT:PSS a unique material to build organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), which have relevant application as amplifying transducers for bioelectronic signals. In order to measure charge carrier density and mobility, an innovative 4-wire, contact independent characterization technique was introduced, the electrolyte-gated van der Pauw (EgVDP) method, which was combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The technique was applied to macroscopic thin film samples and micro-structured PEDOT:PSS thin film devices fabricated using photolithography. The EgVDP method revealed to be effective for the measurements of holes’ mobility in hydrated PEDOT:PSS thin films, which resulted to be <μ>=(0.67±0.02) cm^2/(V*s). By comparing this result with 2-point-probe measurements, we found that contact resistance effects led to a mobility overestimation in the latter. Ion accumulation at the drain contact creates a gate-dependent potential barrier and is discussed as a probable reason for the overestimation in 2-point-probe measurements. The measured charge transport properties of PEDOT:PSS were analyzed in the framework of an extended drift-diffusion model. The extended model fits well also to the non-linear response in the transport characterization and results suggest a Gaussian DOS for PEDOT:PSS. The PEDOT:PSS-electrolyte interface capacitance resulted to be voltage-independent, confirming the hypothesis of its morphological origin, related to the separation between the electronic (PEDOT) and ionic (PSS) phases in the blend.

Carotenoids Are Effective Inhibitors Of In Vitro Hemolysis Of Human Erythrocytes, As Determined By A Practical And Optimized Cellular Antioxidant Assay.

β-Carotene, zeaxanthin, lutein, β-cryptoxanthin, and lycopene are liposoluble pigments widely distributed in vegetables and fruits and, after ingestion, these compounds are usually detected in human blood plasma. In this study, we evaluated their potential to inhibit hemolysis of human erythrocytes, as mediated by the toxicity of peroxyl radicals (ROO•). Thus, 2,2'-azobis (2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH) was used as ROO• generator and the hemolysis assay was carried out in experimental conditions optimized by response surface methodology, and successfully adapted to microplate assay. The optimized conditions were verified at 30 × 10(6) cells/mL, 17 mM of AAPH for 3 h, at which 48 ± 5% of hemolysis was achieved in freshly isolated erythrocytes. Among the tested carotenoids, lycopene (IC(50) = 0.24 ± 0.05 μM) was the most efficient to prevent the hemolysis, followed by β-carotene (0.32 ± 0.02 μM), lutein (0.38 ± 0.02 μM), and zeaxanthin (0.43 ± 0.02 μM). These carotenoids were at least 5 times more effective than quercetin, trolox, and ascorbic acid (positive controls). β-Cryptoxanthin did not present any erythroprotective effect, but rather induced a hemolytic effect at the highest tested concentration (3 μM). These results suggest that selected carotenoids may have potential to act as important erythroprotective agents by preventing ROO•-induced toxicity in human erythrocytes.

Chemical Immobilization Of Crosslinked Polymeric Ionic Liquids On Nitinol Wires Produces Highly Robust Sorbent Coatings For Solid-phase Microextraction.

Super elastic nitinol (NiTi) wires were exploited as highly robust supports for three distinct crosslinked polymeric ionic liquid (PIL)-based coatings in solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The oxidation of NiTi wires in a boiling (30%w/w) H2O2 solution and subsequent derivatization in vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) allowed for vinyl moieties to be appended to the surface of the support. UV-initiated on-fiber copolymerization of the vinyl-substituted NiTi support with monocationic ionic liquid (IL) monomers and dicationic IL crosslinkers produced a crosslinked PIL-based network that was covalently attached to the NiTi wire. This alteration alleviated receding of the coating from the support, which was observed for an analogous crosslinked PIL applied on unmodified NiTi wires. A series of demanding extraction conditions, including extreme pH, pre-exposure to pure organic solvents, and high temperatures, were applied to investigate the versatility and robustness of the fibers. Acceptable precision of the model analytes was obtained for all fibers under these conditions. Method validation by examining the relative recovery of a homologous group of phthalate esters (PAEs) was performed in drip-brewed coffee (maintained at 60 °C) by direct immersion SPME. Acceptable recoveries were obtained for most PAEs in the part-per-billion level, even in this exceedingly harsh and complex matrix.

Micronutrient And Physiologic Parameters Before And 6 Months After Rygb.

Bariatric surgery is considered an effective method for sustained weight loss, but may cause various nutritional complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of minerals and vitamins, food consumption, and to monitor physiologic parameters in patients with obesity before and 6 months after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB). Thirty-six patients who had undergone RYGB were prospectively evaluated before and 6 months after surgery. At each phase their weight, height, body mass index (BMI), Electro Sensor Complex (ES Complex) data, food consumption, and total protein serum levels, albumin, prealbumin, parathyroid hormone (PTH), zinc (Zn), B12 vitamin (VitB12), iron (Fe), ferritin, copper (Cu), ionic calcium (CaI), magnesium (Mg), and folic acid were assessed. The mean weight loss from baseline to 6 months after surgery was 35.34±4.82%. Markers of autonomic nervous system balance (P<.01), stiffness index (P<.01), standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals (SDNN) (P<.01), and insulin resistance (P<.001) were also improved. With regard to the micronutrients measured, 34 patients demonstrated some kind of deficiency. There was a high percentage of Zn deficiency in both pre- (55.55%) and postoperative (61.11%) patients, and 33.33% of the patients were deficient in prealbumin postoperatively. The protein intake after 6 months of surgery was below the recommended intake (<70 g/d) for 88.88% of the patients. Laboratory analyses demonstrated an average decrease in total protein (P<.05), prealbumin (P = .002), and PTH (P = .008) between pre- and postsurgery, and a decrease in the percentage of deficiencies for Mg (P<.05), CaI (P<.05), and Fe (P = .021). Despite improvements in the autonomic nervous system balance, stiffness index markers and insulin resistance, we found a high prevalence of hypozincemia at 6 months post-RYGB. Furthermore, protein supplements were needed to maintain an adequate protein intake up to 6 months postsurgery.

Development Of Egg Pc/cholesterol/α-tocopherol Liposomes With Ionic Gradients To Deliver Ropivacaine.

Ropivacaine (RVC) is an aminoamide local anesthetic widely used in surgical procedures. Studies with RVC encapsulated in liposomes and complexed in cyclodextrins have shown good results, but in order to use RVC for lengthy procedures and during the postoperative period, a still more prolonged anesthetic effect is required. This study therefore aimed to provide extended RVC release and increased upload using modified liposomes. Three types of vesicles were studied: (i) large multilamellar vesicle (LMV), (ii) large multivesicular vesicle (LMVV) and (iii) large unilamellar vesicle (LUV), prepared with egg phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol/α-tocopherol (4:3:0.07 mol%) at pH 7.4. Ionic gradient liposomes (inside: pH 5.5, pH 5.5 + (NH4)2SO4 and pH 7.4 + (NH4)2SO4) were prepared and showed improved RVC loading, compared to conventional liposomes (inside: pH 7.4). An high-performance liquid chromatography analytical method was validated for RVC quantification. The liposomes were characterized in terms of their size, zeta potential, polydispersion, morphology, RVC encapsulation efficiency (EE(%)) and in vitro RVC release. LMVV liposomes provided better performance than LMV or LUV. The best formulations were prepared using pH 5.5 (LMVV 5.5in) or pH 7.4 with 250 mM (NH4)2SO4 in the inner aqueous core (LMVV 7.4in + ammonium sulfate), enabling encapsulation of as much as 2% RVC, with high uptake (EE(%) ∼70%) and sustained release (∼25 h). The encapsulation of RVC in ionic gradient liposomes significantly extended the duration of release of the anesthetic, showing that this strategy could be a viable means of promoting longer-term anesthesia during surgical procedures and during the postoperative period.

Visual demonstration of the ionic strength effect in the classroom: the Debye-Hückel limiting law

The effects of ionic strength on ions in aqueous solutions are quite relevant, especially for biochemical systems, in which proteins and amino acids are involved. The teaching of this topic and more specifically, the Debye-Hückel limiting law, is central in chemistry undergraduate courses. In this work, we present a description of an experimental procedure based on the color change of aqueous solutions of bromocresol green (BCG), driven by addition of electrolyte. The contribution of charge product (z+|z-|) to the Debye-Hückel limiting law is demonstrated when the effects of NaCl and Na2SO4 on the color of BCG solutions are compared.

Is Misión Milagro an effective program to prevent blindness in Latin America?

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Consumption of a flaxseed-rich food is not more effective than a placebo in alleviating the climacteric symptoms of postmenopausal women

Our objective in this work was to test the effects of daily intake of bread produced with partially defatted ground flaxseed on the climacteric symptoms and endometrial thickness of postmenopausal women. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed with 38 women who had been postmenopausal for 1–10 y and consumed 2 slices of bread containing 25 g of flaxseed (46 mg lignans) or wheat bran (<1 mg lignans; control) every day for 12 consecutive weeks. The outcome variables were the daily number of hot flashes, the Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI), and endometrial thickness. The plasma lipid profile (total cholesterol and HDL, LDL, and VLDL cholesterol fractions and triglycerides) and the hormones estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and free thyroxine also were measured. Food intake was evaluated by means of 2 24-h recalls, before and after the treatment. Twenty patients in the study group and 18 in the control group completed the study. The general characteristics did not differ between the 2 groups at the start of the study. Both had significant, but similar, reductions in hot flashes and KMI after 3 mo of treatment. Moreover, endometrial thickness was not affected in either group. Our findings clearly show that although flaxseed is safe, its consumption at this level (46 mg lignans/d) is no more effective than placebo for reducing hot flashes and KMI

Convergence of developmental mutants into a single tomato model system: 'Micro-Tom' as an effective toolkit for plant development research

Background: The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plant is both an economically important food crop and an ideal dicot model to investigate various physiological phenomena not possible in Arabidopsis thaliana. Due to the great diversity of tomato cultivars used by the research community, it is often difficult to reliably compare phenotypes. The lack of tomato developmental mutants in a single genetic background prevents the stacking of mutations to facilitate analysis of double and multiple mutants, often required for elucidating developmental pathways. Results: We took advantage of the small size and rapid life cycle of the tomato cultivar Micro-Tom (MT) to create near-isogenic lines (NILs) by introgressing a suite of hormonal and photomorphogenetic mutations (altered sensitivity or endogenous levels of auxin, ethylene, abscisic acid, gibberellin, brassinosteroid, and light response) into this genetic background. To demonstrate the usefulness of this collection, we compared developmental traits between the produced NILs. All expected mutant phenotypes were expressed in the NILs. We also created NILs harboring the wild type alleles for dwarf, self-pruning and uniform fruit, which are mutations characteristic of MT. This amplified both the applications of the mutant collection presented here and of MT as a genetic model system. Conclusions: The community resource presented here is a useful toolkit for plant research, particularly for future studies in plant development, which will require the simultaneous observation of the effect of various hormones, signaling pathways and crosstalk.

Synthesis of diaryl selenides using electrophilic selenium species and nucleophilic boron reagents in ionic liquids

We described herein the use of imidazolium ionic liquids [bmim]PF(6) and [bmim]BF(4) in the selective, metal and catalyst-free synthesis of unsymmetrical diaryl selenides by electrophilic substitution in arylboron reagents with arylselenium halides (Cl and Br) at room temperature. This is a general substitution reaction and it was performed with arylboronic acids or potassium aryltrifluoroborates bearing electron-withdrawing or electron-donating groups, affording the corresponding diaryl selenides in good to excellent yields. The ionic liquid [bmim][PF(6)] was easily recovered and utilized for further substitution reactions.

Photodynamic Therapy Can Be Effective as a Treatment for Herpes Simplex Labialis

Background Data and Objective: Herpes is a common infectious disease that is caused by human herpesviruses. Several treatments have been proposed, but none of them prevent reactivation of the virus. This article describes the use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a treatment for herpes lesions, and reports on four cases. Materials and Methods: PDT was used as an adjuvant therapy for the treatment of herpes labialis in four patients. A special type of 0.01% (m/V) of methylene blue solution was applied to the vesicular stage of herpesviral disease and the lesions were irradiated with laser energy (wavelength 660 nm, energy density 120 J/cm(2), output power of 40 mW, 2 min per point, 4.8 J of energy/point, at four points). After 24 h the patients returned and phototherapy was repeated with the same equipment, this time with 3.8 J/cm(2) and 15 mW, for a total dose of 0.6 J. The same procedure was repeated 72 h and 1 wk later. Results: Treatment with low-level laser therapy can be considered as an option in the treatment of herpes labialis, and decreases the frequency of vesicle recurrence and provides comfort for patients. No significant acute side effects were noted and the lesions healed rapidly. Conclusion: Treatment of herpes labialis with PDT was effective, had no side effects, and when associated with laser phototherapy, accelerated the healing process.

Ionic and Histological Studies of Salivary Glands in Rats with Diabetes and Their Glycemic State After Laser Irradiation

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of laser irradiation (LI) on the glycemic state and the histological and ionic parameters of the parotid and submandibular glands in rats with diabetes. Methods: One hundred twenty female rats were divided into eight groups. Diabetes was induced by administration of streptozotocin and confirmed later according to results of glycemia testing. Twenty-nine days after the induction, the parotid and submandibular glands of the rats were irradiated with 5, 10, and 20 J/cm(2) using a laser diode (660nm/100mW) (without diabetes: C5, C10, and C20; with diabetes: D5, D10, and D20, respectively). On the following day, the rats were euthanized, and blood glucose determined. Histological and ionic analyses were performed. Results: Rats with diabetes without irradiation (D0) showed lipid droples accumulation in the parotid gland, but accumulation decreased after 5, 10, and 20 J/cm(2) of laser irradiation. A decrease in fasting glycemia level from 358.97 +/- 56.70 to 278.33 +/- 87.98mg/dL for D5 and from 409.50 +/- 124.41 to 231.80 +/- 120.18 mg/dL for D20 (p < 0.05) was also observed. Conclusion: LI should be explored as an auxiliary therapy for control of complications of diabetes because it can alter the carbohydrate and lipid metabolism of rats with diabetes.