The effect of UV-irradiation on composting of polyethylene modified by cellulose

LDPE and its blend with cellulose, obtained by extrusion, were UV-irradiated with different doses or biodegraded in soil up to 1 year. Simultaneously, the same samples were 1 year biodegraded after 20 h UV pre-irradiation in the same conditions. The course of photo- and biodegradation was monitored by estimation of average molecular weights and polydispersity, gel amount, changes of PE crystallinity and mechanical properties. Moreover, the biodegradation degree was calculated on the basis of carbon dioxide evolved and surface morphological changes were observed by SEM. It was found that biodegradation of PE + cellulose is hampered by intermolecular crosslinking of both components. Although, the rate of decomposition of PE + cellulose blends is low it is enough for disintegration of such materials in the natural environment.     

Investigation of the tensile properties of “epoxy resin‐monomer” systems using cationic UV‐crosslinkable blends

The compatibility of cycloaliphatic and aromatic multifunctional epoxides with several epoxide resins allows the development of a wide range of cationic radiation‐curable formulations. The influence of different “epoxide resin‐monomer” systems UV‐cured in the presence of suitable cationic photoinitiators on the resulting physicochemical film properties was studied, and the results are stated. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Stopped-flow Study on the Kinetics and Mechanism of CO2 Uptake by the cis-[Cr(1,10-phenanthroline)2(OH2)2]3+ Complex Ion

The kinetics of the reaction between gaseous CO₂ and the cis-[Cr(phen)₂(OH₂)₂]³⁺ ion leading to the formation of the carbonato complex ion, have been studied over the pH and temperature ranges: 3 < pH < 6 and 5 < T < 25 °C, respectively, at a constant ionic strength of 1 m (NaClO₄). Investigations were carried out using the stopped-flow spectrophotometry technique in the UV–Vis range: 340–700 nm. The major reactant species in the pH range studied was cis-[Cr(phen)₂(OH)(OH₂)]²⁺ ion, which underwent reaction with CO₂ to form cis-[Cr(phen)₂(OH₂)(HCO₃)]²⁺ ion. Subsequently, slower ring closure of the latter species to form the bidentate carbonato chelate was observed. The possible mechanism has been discussed and the activation parameters ΔH^† and ΔS^† were also determined for the reaction studied.     

210Pb in magnesium dietary supplements

The idea behind this study was to investigate the most popular magnesium dietary supplements as a potential additional source of ²¹⁰Pb in the human diet. The paper presents the results of ²¹⁰Pb activities determined in different magnesium supplements, as well as an estimation of the annual effective radiation doses from ²¹⁰Pb decay. The results showed that the highest value of ²¹⁰Pb activity was found in a magnesium supplement of natural origin (dolomite) with a value of 2.97?±?0.18 mBq g^–1. The highest annual radiation dose from ²¹⁰Pb obtained from the magnesium daily recommended value (0.4 g of pure Mg) was calculated for dolomite tablets as 3.71?±?0.02 µSv·year^–1.     

Impact of the Type of Crosslinking Agents on the Properties of Modified Sodium Alginate/Poly(vinyl Alcohol) Hydrogels

Here, we report on studies on the influence of different crosslinking methods (ionic and chemical) on the physicochemical (swelling ability and degradation in simulated body fluids), structural (FT-IR spectra analysis) and morphological (SEM analysis) properties of SA/PVA hydrogels containing active substances of natural origin. First, an aqueous extract of Echinacea purpurea was prepared using a Soxhlet apparatus. Next, a series of modified SA/PVA-based hydrogels were obtained through the chemical crosslinking method using poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA, M_n = 700 g/mol) as a crosslinking agent and, additionally, the ionic reaction in the presence of a 5% w/v calcium chloride solution. The compositions of SA/PVA/E. purpurea-based hydrogels contained a polymer of natural origin—sodium alginate (SA, 1.5% solution)—and a synthetic polymer—poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA, M_n = 72,000 g/mol, 10% solution)—in the ratio 2:1, and different amounts of the aqueous extract of E. purpurea—5, 10, 15 or 20% (v/v). Additionally, the release behavior of echinacoside from the polymeric matrix was evaluated in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 37 °C. The results indicate that the type of the crosslinking method has a direct impact on the release profile. Consequently, it is possible to design a system that delivers an active substance in a way that depends on the application.     

Studies of modified carbon nanotubes by means of thermogravimetry Q-TG and sorptometry techniques

The paper presents the physicochemical (adsorption and porosity) properties of closed carbon nanotubes, opened through the action of an oxidizing acid and modified with metal ions of nickel, cobalt, and iron/cobalt. The carbon nanotubes were prepared via the oxidation process by means of 65 % nitric acid and/or nickel and cobalt nitrates dissolved with 65 % nitric acid. Using special thermogravimetry Q-TG and sorptometry methods physicochemical properties of pure and modified nanotube surfaces were investigated. A numerical and analytical procedure for the evaluation of heterogeneous properties (adsorption capacity, statistical number of adsorbed liquid layers, desorption energy distribution functions) on the basis of liquid thermodesorption Q-TG from the sample surfaces under the quasi-equilibrium conditions are presented. The calculations of the specific surface areas, pore size and volume, and fractal dimensions of carbon nanotubes were made from sorptometry data.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of β-amino acids using a long-tethered (+)-(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid-based chiral stationary phase

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed for the separation of enantiomers of eleven unnatural β²-amino acids on a new chiral stationary phase, using the 11-methylene-unit spacer of aminoundecylsilica gel for the bonding of (+)-(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid as selector. The nature and concentration of the acidic and organic modifiers, the pH, the mobile phase composition, and the structures of the analytes substantially influenced the retention and resolution. Separations were carried out at constant mobile phase compositions in the temperature range 7–40 °C and the changes in enthalpy, Δ(ΔH°), entropy, Δ(ΔS°), and free energy, Δ(ΔG°) were calculated. The elution sequence was determined in some cases: the S enantiomers eluted before the R enantiomers.     

Assessing the role of chemical components in cellular responses to atmospheric particle matter (PM) through chemical fractionation of PM extracts

In order to further our understanding of the influence of chemical components and ultimately specific sources of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) on pro-inflammatory and other adverse cellular responses, we promulgate and apply a suite of chemical fractionation tools to aqueous aerosol extracts of PM samples for analysis in toxicity assays. We illustrate the approach with a study that used water extracts of quasi-ultrafine PM (PM_0.25) collected in the Los Angeles Basin. Filtered PM extracts were fractionated using Chelex, a weak anion exchanger diethylaminoethyl (DEAE), a strong anion exchanger (SAX), and a hydrophobic C18 resin, as well as by desferrioxamine (DFO) complexation that binds iron. The fractionated extracts were then analyzed using high-resolution sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICPMS) to determine elemental composition. Cellular responses to the fractionated extracts were probed in an in vitro rat alveolar macrophages model with measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The DFO treatment that chelates iron was very effective at reducing the cellular ROS activity but had only a small impact on the TNF-α production. In contrast, the hydrophobic C18 resin treatment had a small impact on the cellular ROS activity but significantly reduced the TNF-α production. The use of statistical methods to integrate the results across all treatments led to the conclusion that sufficient iron must be present to participate in the chemistry needed for ROS activity, but the amount of ROS activity is not proportional to the iron solution concentration. ROS activity was found to be most related to cationic mono- and divalent metals (i.e., Mn and Ni) and oxyanions (i.e., Mo and V). Although the TNF-α production was not significantly affected by the chelexation of iron, it was greatly impacted by the removal of organics with the C18 resin and all other metal removal methods, suggesting that iron is not a critical pathway leading to TNF-α production, but a wide range of soluble metals and organic compounds in particulate matter play a role. Although the results are specific to the Los Angeles Basin, where the samples used in the study were collected, the method employed in the study can be widely employed to study the role of components of particulate matter in in vitro or in vivo assays.     

Allene functionalization via bicyclic methylene aziridines

The oxidative functionalization of olefins is a common method for the formation of vicinal carbon-heteroatom bonds. However, oxidative methods to transform allenes into synthetic motifs containing three contiguous carbon-heteroatom bonds are much less developed. This paper describes the use of bicyclic methylene aziridines (MAs), prepared via intramolecular allene aziridination, as scaffolds for functionalization of all three allene carbons.     

Stopped-flow spectrophotometric study of the kinetics and mechanism of CO₂ uptake by cis-[Cr(C₂O₄)(BaraNH₂)(OH₂)₂]+ cation and the acid-catalyzed decomposition of cis-[Cr(C₂O₄)(BaraNH₂)OCO₂]- anion in aqueous solution

The kinetics of CO(2) uptake by the cis-[Cr(C(2)O(4))(BaraNH(2))(OH(2))(2)]+ complex cation and the acid hydrolysis of the cis-[Cr(C(2)O(4))(BaraNH(2))OCO(2)]- complex anion (where BaraNH(2) denotes methyl 3-amino-2,3-dideoxy-b-D-arabino-hexopyranoside) were studied using the stopped-flow technique. The reactions under study were investigated in aqueous solution in the 288-308 K temperature range. In the case of the reaction between CO(2) and cis-[Cr(C(2)O(4))(BaraNH(2))(OH(2))(2)]+ cation variable pH values (6.82-8.91) and the constant ionic strength of solution (H+, Na+, ClO(4)- = 1.0) were used. Carbon dioxide was generated by the reaction between sodium pyruvate and hydrogen peroxide. The acid hydrolysis of cis-[Cr(C(2)O(4))(BaraNH(2))OCO(2)]- was investigated for varying concentrations of H+ ions (0.01-2.7 M). The obtained results enabled the determination of the number of steps of the studied reactions. Based on the kinetic equations, rate constants were determined for each step. Finally, mechanisms for both reactions were proposed and discussed. Based on the obtained results it was concluded that the carboxylation (CO(2) uptake) reactions of cis-[Cr(C(2)O(4))(BaraNH(2))(OH(2))(2)]+ and the decarboxylation (acid hydrolysis) of the cis-[Cr(C(2)O(4))(BaraNH(2))OCO(2)]- are the opposite of each other.