Determination of trace elements in human gallstone and bile by k0-INAA

Summary The trace elements composition of gallbladder stones samples of the types cholesterol, pigment and mixed stones in addition to bile have been investigated by k₀-instrumental neutron activation analysis (k₀-INAA). The samples were obtained from several individuals of adult subjects of the Libyan population who undergone open surgery of gallbladder (cholecystectomy) at Al-khadra University Hospital in Tripoli. The samples were lyophilized, irradiated together with Au wire and Zr foil, which serve as flux ratio monitor and a parameter at TNRC. Concentrations of 24 elements in gallstone and 23 elements in bile were determined. The levels of the trace elements in the various samples investigated are measured and discussed. The reliability of the analysis was checked with several biological standard reference materials.     

High content analysis of the biocompatibility of nickel nanowires

Nickel nanowires, 20 μm long and 200 nm in diameter, were fabricated by electrodeposition into alumina templates, and characterised by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Biocompatibility studies of nickel nanowires with differentiated THP-1 cell line-derived macrophages were carried out. From a multiparametric assay, using high content analysis (HCA), the critical time points and concentrations of nickel nanowires on THP-1 cellular response were identified. The nanowires displayed little or no toxic effects on THP-1 cells over short incubation times (10 h), and at low concentrations (<100 nanowires per cell). Our findings indicate the potential suitability of these wires for biological and clinical applications.     

Synthesis of α- and β-FeOOH iron oxide nanoparticles in non-ionic surfactant medium

Forced hydrolysis of Fe(III) ions in acidic media was performed under controlled synthetic conditions to produce α- and β-FeOOH iron oxides. The forced hydrolysis synthesis was carried out, separately, in an aqueous medium and the lamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline phase of a commercial non-ionic surfactant/water system. The FT-IR analyses confirmed formation of α- and β-FeOOH iron oxides in the aqueous and the surfactant media with slight formation of ferrihydrite and haematite. TEM micrographs have shown that particles formed in the lamellar lyotropic phase are smaller than those produced in the aqueous medium with their smallest size dimension being constrained in the nanometre scale with a size ranging between 5 and 100 nm. Particles produced in the nanoscale size appeared to have different optical properties compared to their counterparts produced in the microscale size.     

Stationary distribution and extinction of a stochastic SIRI epidemic model with relapse

In this paper, we study the dynamics of a stochastic Susceptible-Infective-Removed-Infective (SIRI) epidemic model with relapse. By constructing a suitable stochastic Lyapunov function, we establish sufficient conditions for the existence of an ergodic stationary distribution to the model. Moreover, sufficient conditions for extinction of the disease are also obtained.     

Thermotropic liquid-crystalline behaviour from mixtures of non-mesogenic molecules

Abstract

A class of non-mesogenic molecules, which as mixtures exhibit monotropic nematic phases, is described.     

Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Poly(Azomethine‐Ether)s Containing Dibenzylidene Derivatives in the Main Chain

A new homologous series of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly (azomethine‐ether)s based on dibenzylidene derivatives were synthesized by solution polycondensation of various diformyl‐α,ω-diphenoxyalkanes, I–VIII with 2,6‐bis(m‐aminobenzylidene)‐4‐phenylcyclohexanone X, and characterized by ¹H‐NMR, IR and elemental analyses. The inherent viscosities of the polymers were in the range 0.29–0.58 dI/g. All the poly (azomethine‐ether)s were insoluble in common organic solvents but dissolved completely in concentrated H₂SO₄ and methanesulphonic acid. The mesomorphic properties were studied as a function of the diphenoxyalkane space length. Analysis by DSC and optical polarized microscopy demonstrated that the poly (azomethine‐ether)s from nematic mesophases over wide temperature ranges.     

Initiation and inhibition of dealloying of single crystalline Cu3Au (111) surfaces

Dealloying is widely utilized but is a dangerous corrosion process as well. Here we report an atomistic picture of the initial stages of electrochemical dealloying of the model system Cu(3)Au (111). We illuminate the structural and chemical changes during the early stages of dissolution up to the critical potential, using a unique combination of advanced surface-analytical tools. Scanning tunneling microscopy images indicate an interlayer exchange of topmost surface atoms during initial dealloying, while scanning Auger-electron microscopy data clearly reveal that the surface is fully covered by a continuous Au-rich layer at an early stage. Initiating below this first layer a transformation from stacking-reversed toward substrate-oriented Au surface structures is observed close to the critical potential. We further use the observed structural transitions as a reference process to evaluate the mechanistic changes induced by a thiol-based model-inhibition layer applied to suppress surface diffusion. The initial ultrathin Au layer is stabilized with the intermediate island morphology completely suppressed, along an anodic shift of the breakdown potential. Thiol-modification induces a peculiar surface microstructure in the form of microcracks exhibiting a nanoporous core. On the basis of the presented atomic-scale observations, an interlayer exchange mechanism next to pure surface diffusion becomes obvious which may be controlling the layer thickness and its later change in orientation.