Preparation of submicron‐scale,electrospun cellulose fibers via direct dissolution

Cellulose nonwoven mats of submicron‐sized fibers (150 nm–500 nm in diameter) were obtained by electrospinning cellulose solutions. A solvent system based on lithium chloride (LiCl) and N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc) was used, and the effects of (i) temperature of the collector, (ii) type of collector (aluminum mesh and cellulose filter media), and (iii) postspinning treatment, such as coagulation with water, on the morphology of electrospun fibers were investigated. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction studies of as‐spun fibers at room temperature reveal that the morphology of cellulose fibers evolves with time due to moisture absorption and swelling caused by the residual salt and solvent. Although heating the collector greatly enhances the stability of the fiber morphology, the removal of salt by coagulation and DMAc by heating the collector was necessary for the fabrication of dry and stable cellulose fibers with limited moisture absorption and swelling. The presence and removal of the salt before and after coagulation have been identified by electron microprobe and X‐ray diffraction studies. When cellulose filter media is used as a collector, dry and stable fibers were obtained without the coagulation step, and the resulting electrospun fibers exhibit good adhesion to the filter media. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1673–1683, 2005     

Electrochemical sensor for the detection and presumptive identification of quinolone and tetracycline residues in milk

A novel application of an electrochemical biosensor is here employed as analytical method for the detection and presumptive identification of antimicrobial drug residues in milk. The measurement was based on carbon dioxide production rate in relation to inhibition of microbial grow (Escherichia coli ATCC 11303). In this pilot study quinolone and tetracycline residues have been taken into consideration because use of these last in livestock production has been identified as area of particular concern. The experimental approach and analytical method developed appear adequate for the purpose, and compared to older screening methods as, for example, the microbial inhibition assays and immunoassays, offers the advantages of (i) very short analysis time (about 120 min); (ii) smaller sample amount (approximately 0.5 mL); (iii) no sample treatment (iv) good precision; and (v) the possibility of following, in a continuous manner, the inhibition process. Moreover, sensitivity of electrochemical biosensor system is resulted very high considering that for all quinolones and tetracyclines investigated it has been possible detect a residue concentration below or equal to 25 μg L⁻¹. Under this point of view, it must be considered that the maximum residue limits fixed by UE for quinolones and tetracyclines in milk are, at present, all higher of this concentration.     

Nanoparticle Formation Mechanism in CVD Reactor with Ionization of Source Vapor

A new chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, called ionization CVD, was developed, to produce non-agglomerated nanoparticles in which reactant gases are charged. A sonic-jet corona discharger was used as an ionizer in the developed nanoparticle generator. For a tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS)/O₂ chemical system, SiO₂ nanoparticles were prepared. All particles formed by the ionization CVD were charged unipolarly. SEM micrographs of particles showed that the repulsive Coulombic force between charged particles reduces their coagulation rate and produces non-agglomerated nanoparticles that have a relatively high number concentration and small size. An external field was used to collect the charged particles onto Si wafers. These collected samples indicated that the deposition of charged particles could be controlled by the external electric field. Particle concentration measurement with a condensation nucleus counter at various TEOS concentrations suggested the particle formation mechanism in the ionization CVD was an ion-induced nucleation.     

The discrete coagulation-fragmentation equations: Existence,uniqueness, and density conservation

The discrete coagulation-fragmentation equation describes the kinetics of cluster growth in which clusters can coagulate via binary interactions to form larger clusters or fragment to form smaller ones. These models have many applications in pure and applied science ranging from cluster formation in galaxies to the kinetics of phase transformations in binary alloys. Our results relate to existence, uniqueness, density conservation and continuous dependence and they generalise the corresponding results in [ref. 2] for the Becker-Doring equations for which the processes are restricted to clusters gaining or shedding one particle. Examples are given which illustrate the role of the assumptions on the kinetic coefficients and show the rich set of analytic phenomena supported by the general discrete coagulation-fragmentation equations.     

单道扫描式ICP—AES法测定婴儿乳粉,代乳粉中K,Na,Ca,Mg,P,Fe,Zn,Cu,Mn和Sr

本文采用HNO_3-HClO_4湿法消解样品,用乳化剂OP解决雾化器堵塞问题,利用单道扫描式ICP-AES仪测定婴儿乳粉、代乳粉中十种元素(K、Na、Ca、Mg、F、Fe、Zn、Cu、Mn和Sr)。方法简便快速,回收率在90-105%,相对标准偏差均小于10%,适用于婴儿乳粉、代乳粉中上述元素的测定。     

The influence of interparticle surface forces on the coagulation of weakly magnetic mineral ultrafines in a magnetic field

In this paper, it is shown that the coagulation of dispersions of weakly magnetic mineral ultrafines (such as hematite and chromite) in an external magnetic field can be described theoretically by invoking interparticle forces. Essentially, coagulation occurs when the short-range London—van der Waals interactions and the long-range magnetic forces outweigh the stabilizing electric double layer repulsion. From classical colloid chemistry theory, we have calculated the various components of the potential energy for different-sized particles at a series of ionic strengths and magnetic field intensifies. Principles governing the stability of the suspensions were derived and the computations lead to the establishment of criteria which can be used to predict the stability of the suspensions of weakly magnetic oxide mineral ultrafines in a “wet magnetic separation process”.

Experimentally, the magnetic-field induced coagulation of ultrafines of natural hematite and chromite in aqueous suspensions at moderate ionic strength was investigated using a laboratory-scale electromagnetic solenoid. The experimental results relate the coagulation process (as determined by magnetosedimentation analysis) to particle size, slurry pH and the external magnetic field. In the magnetic fields, maximum coagulation occurred near the pH of the point of zero charge (pH_PZC) of the minerals (where the electrostatic double layer repulsion was reduced to a minimum) enabling the particles to enter the “primary minimum” energy sink. In contrast, in cases where the electrostatic repulsion was not suppressed, the long-range magnetic forces enabled coagulation to occur in the “secondary minimum”. This caused the formation of chains which appeared to be relatively stable at enhanced rates of settling. The experimental results could be interpreted from a theoretical analysis of the interparticle forces controlling the process.     

Separation of human fibrinopeptides by capillary zone electrophoresis

We describe a method for the simultaneous determination of the five fibrinopeptide forms derived from the thrombin-promoted activation of human fibrinogen by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). The fibrinopeptide mixture was first desalted by a solid-phase extraction (SPE) step. The analysis was performed in reversed polarity in a highly cross-linked polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated capillary with UV-light absorption detection at 200 nm. Several parameters including buffer concentration and pH, presence of an organic modifier, temperature, and applied voltage, have been tested. The best separations were obtained within 20 min, utilizing a 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer without organic modifier, in the narrow 6.1-6.2 pH range, at 25 degrees C, with an applied voltage of 20 kV. Quantitative analysis is made possible by the use of sheep fibrinopeptide A as an internal standard to correct for both extraction and injection errors.     

A deterministic scheme for Smoluchowski's coagulation equation based on binary grid refinement

We present a deterministic scheme for the discrete Smoluchowski's coagulation equation based on a binary grid refinement. Starting from the binary grid Ω₀={1,2,4,8,16,. . .}, we first introduce an appropriate grid refinement by adding at each level 2^l grid points in every binary subsection of the grid Ω_l. In a next step we derive an approximate equation for the dynamic behavior on each level Ω_l based on a piecewise constant approximation of the right hand side of Smoluchowski's equation. Numerical results show that the computational effort can be drastically decreased compared to the corresponding complete integer grid. When considering unbounded kernels in Smoluchowski's equation we use an adaptive time step method to overcome numerical instabilities which may occur at the tails of the density function.     

Blood coagulation and fibrinolysis

As a result of advances in protein chemistry it is now widely accepted that blood coagulation proceeds via a series of reaction steps of the nature of enzyme-substrate reactions catalyzed by phospholipids. This also applies to the compensatory process of fibrinolysis. The factors taking part in both mechanisms as well as the inhibitors regulating the equilibrium have been shown to be proteins, some of them with a high carbohydrate content. Modern diagnostic methods and therapy are based on this knowledge.     

C and N stable isotope variation in urine and milk of cattle depending on the diet

The stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of urine and milk samples from cattle under different feeding regimes were analysed over a period of six months. The isotope ratios were measured with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). The δ ¹³C values of milk and urine were dependent on different feeding regimes based on C₃ or C₄ plants. The δ ¹³C values are more negative under grass feeding than under maize feeding. The δ ¹³C values of milk are more negative compared to urine and independent of the feeding regime. Under grass feeding the analysed milk and urine samples are enriched in ¹³C relative to the feed, whereas under maize feeding the ¹³C/¹²C ratio of urine is in the same range and milk is depleted in ¹³C relative to the diet. The difference between the ¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratios for the two feeding regimes is less pronounced than the ¹³C/¹²C ratios. The δ ¹⁵N values in urine require more time to reach the new equilibrium, whereas the milk samples show no significant differences between the two feeding regimes.