Genkwalathins A and B,new lathyrane-type diterpenes from Daphne genkwa

Screening for new natural anti-neuroinflammatory compounds was performed with the traditional folk medicine Genkwa Flos, which potently inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production by LPS-activated microglial BV-2 cells. Two new lathyrane-type diterpenes, genkwalathins A (1) and B (2), and 14 known daphnane-type diterpenes (3–16) were isolated. The lathyrane-type diterpenes were isolated for the first time from the Thymelaeaceae family in this study. Compounds 1 and 2 moderately inhibited LPS-induced NO production in BV-2 cells without affecting cell viability, while six daphnane-type diterpenes (3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10) potently reduced NO production with IC₅₀ values less than 1 μM, although they did display weak cytotoxicity. A structure–activity relationship study on the daphnane-type diterpenes indicated that the stereochemistry at C-19, the benzoate group at C-20, and the epoxide moiety could be important for their anti-neuroinflammatory effects.     

Inactivation of Enterobacter sakazakii of dehydrated infant formula by gamma-irradiation

Enterobacter sakazakii has been implicated as a causal organism in a severe form of neonatal meningitis, with reported mortality rates of 20%. The population at greatest risk is immunocompromised infants of any age. Dried infant formula has been identified as a potential source of the organism in both outbreaks and sporadic cases. The objective of this study was to investigate theirradiation effect of the inactivation on E. sakazakii (ATCC 29544) of a dehydrated infant formula. The D₁₀-values were 0.22–0.27 and 0.76 kGy for broth and dehydrated infant formula, respectively. The irradiation at 5.0 kGy was able to completely eliminate the E. sakazakii inoculated at 8.0 to 9.0 log CFU g⁻¹ onto a dehydrated infant formula. There was no regrowth for all samples during the time they were stored at 10 °C for 6 h after rehydration. The present results indicated that a gamma-irradiation could potentially be used to inactivate E. sakazakii in a dehydrated powdered infant formula.     

Thermoluminescence detection of Korean traditional foods exposed to gamma and electron-beam irradiation

Thermoluminescence(TL) analysis was applied to detect irradiated Korean traditional condiments and soup mixes containing salt(NaCl). These food items, which are commercially irradiated in Korea, showed a consistently high correlation(R²) between the absorbed doses and the corresponding TL responses. It was proved that table salt played a role as an in-built indicator in TL measurements and its concentration in test samples was proposed as a correction factor for varying conditions of TL measurements. Pre-established threshold values were successfully adopted to identify 167 coded samples of Ramen soup mixes, both non-irradiated and irradiated with gamma and electron-beam energy. The TL intensity of irradiated soup mixes decreased with the lapse of time, but was still distinguishable from that of the non-irradiated samples at the fourth month of ambient storage. Expected estimates of absorbed doses, 2.85 and 4.75 kGv were obtained using a quadratic equation with average values of 1.57 and 4.90 kGy, respectively.     

In-situ CeBr3 gamma-ray spectrometry for radioactivity analysis of soil

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - A CeBr3 scintillation detector was applied for in situ gamma-ray spectrometry for radioactivity assessment of soil. The full energy peak...     

Advances in Porous Organic Polymers for Efficient Water Capture

Desiccant driven dehumidification for maintaining the proper humidity levels and atmospheric water capture with minimum energy penalty are important aspects in heat pumps, refrigeration, gas and liquid purifications, gas sensing, and clean water production for improved human health and comfort. Water adsorption by using nanoporous materials has emerged as a viable alternative to energy-intensive industrial processes, thus understanding the significance of their porosity, high surface areas, vast pore volumes, chemical and structural features relative to the water adsorption is quite important. In this review article, important features of nanoporous materials are presented, including zeolites, porous carbons, as well as crystalline and amorphous porous organic polymers (POPs) to define the interactions between the water molecules and the polar/non-polar functional groups on the surface of these nanoporous materials. In particular, focus is placed on the recent developments in POPs in the context of water capture as a result of their remarkable stability towards water and wide range of available synthetic routes and building blocks for their synthesis. We also highlighted recent approaches to increase the water sorption capacity of POPs by modifying their structure, morphology, porosity, and chemical functionality while emphasizing their promising future in this emerging area.