Colloidal Analysis of Particles Extracted from Microalloyed Steels

Different colloidal particle characterization methods are examined for their suitability to determine the particle size distribution of particles extracted from steels. Microalloyed steels are dissolved to extract niobium and titanium carbonitride particles that are important for the mechanical properties of these steels. Such particles have sizes ranging from several nanometers to hundreds of nanometers depending on the precipitation stage during the thermomechanically controlled rolling process. The size distribution of the particles is analyzed by dynamic light scattering (DLS), analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), and hollow fiber flow field-flow fractionation (HF5) and compared to data obtained for reference particles as well as data from electron microscopy, the standard sizing technique used in metallurgy today. AUC and HF5 provide high-quality size distributions, average over large particle numbers that enables statistical analysis, and yield useful insights for alloy design; however, DLS fails due to a lack of resolution. Important aspects in the conversion and comparison of size distributions obtained for broadly distributed particle systems with different measurement principles and the role of surfactants used in sample preparation are discussed.     

Hepatic lipid composition analysis using 3.0-T MR spectroscopy in a steatotic rat model

Purpose

To investigate the feasibility of in vivo assessment of hepatic lipid composition using 3.0-T proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) in a steatotic rat model and compare it to histopathological and biochemical assessment.

Materials and Methods

Hepatic steatosis was induced by feeding rats with a methionine/choline-deficient (MCD) diet for 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 weeks (n=5 per group). At the end of the diet period, ¹H-MRS of the liver was performed, and rats were sacrificed for histopathological and biochemical assessment of the liver. Spectra were acquired in a single voxel (1.2 cc) using a point-resolved spectroscopic sequence with TE/TR=35/2000 ms and 64 signal acquisitions. From the MR spectra, peak area ratios were calculated to estimate hepatic lipid composition.

Results

During MCD diet periods, hepatic steatosis significantly increased on histopathology (P<.001). The ¹H-MRS measurements of total hepatic fat content [1.3/(1.3+4.65) ppm] correlated strongly with histological macrovesicular hepatic steatosis (r=0.93, P<.001) and with the biochemical total hepatic fatty acids (r=0.94, P<.001). Total unsaturated fatty acids [TUFA, 5.4/(1.3+4.65) ppm] estimated with ¹H-MRS strongly correlated with the biochemical unsaturated fatty acids (r=0.90, P<.001). Polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFA, 2.8/(1.3+4.65) ppm] estimated with ¹H-MRS strongly correlated with biochemical PUFA (r=0.91, P<.001). The proportion of total unsaturated fatty acids relative to the amount of total fatty acids (rTUFA, 5.4/1.3ppm) measured with ¹H-MRS strongly correlated with the biochemical amount of unsaturated relative to total hepatic fatty acids (r=0.81, P<.001). The proportion of PUFA relative to the amount of total fatty acids (rPUFA, 2.8/1.3 ppm) measured with ¹H-MRS correlated with the biochemical amount of PUFA relative to total fatty acids (r=0.59, P=0.005,) and with the biochemical amount of omega-6 PUFA relative to total fatty acids (r=0.73, P<.001).PUFA at ¹H-MRS correlated with the histopathologically assessed degree of lobular inflammation in the liver (r=0.57, P=.001).

Conclusion

3.0T ¹H-MRS is able to measure poly- and unsaturated hepatic fatty acids and this strongly correlates with biochemical assessment. This study provides evidence that 3.0-T ¹H-MRS is a noninvasive technique to assess hepatic lipid composition.     

Host–guest interactions between niobocene dichloride and α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrins: preparation and characterization

The possible inclusion complexes of Cp₂NbCl₂ into α-, β-, and γ-CD hosts have been investigated. The existence of a true inclusion complex in the solid state was confirmed by a combination of thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR, PXRD, and ¹³C CP-MAS NMR spectroscopies. The solid-state results demonstrated that α-cyclodextrin does not form inclusion complexes with Cp₂NbCl₂ whereas β- and γ-cyclodextrins do form such complexes. PXRD, NMR, and thermal analysis showed that the organometallic molecules of Cp₂NbCl₂OH are included in the cavities of β- and γ-cyclodextrins, possibly adopting a symmetrical conformation in the complex, with each glucose unit in a similar environment. In solution, ¹H NMR experiments suggest that niobocene has a shallow penetration on the β-CD leading to upfield shift on H-3 signal with a minor perturbation on the H-5 proton while for γ-CD, both H-3 and H-5 are shifted upfield substantially. This suggests that niobocene penetrates deeper into the γ-CD cavity than in the β-CD cavity, as a result of the cavity size. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Studies in mass spectrometry. IV—Fragmentation of aryltriflates. Substituent effects on [ArO]+ ion abundances: Looking for a best suited electron energy in the steady state approach. Experimental evidence for the ‘through bond’ stabilization of aryl cations by meta electron donor Substituents

The fragmentation patterns of 24 substituted phenyltrifluoromethanesulfonates has been determined by exact mass and metastable transition measurements. The influence of the ring substituent(s) on the abundance of the [ArO]+ ions has been investigated at low energies and a new standard parameter for plotting against Hammett's ó constants is proposed. The direct loss of CF₃SO₃ from the molecular ion of 3,5-(diisopropyl)-phenyl-, 3,5-(dicyclopropyl)phenyl- and 3,5-di(α-methylcyclopropyl)-phenyl-methanesulfonate, and further observations on the fragmentation processes of these compounds are consistent with M.O. calculations on the ‘through bond’ stabilization of the [Ar]+ σ state by meta electron donor substituents.     

13C-13C and (15)N-(13)C correlation spectroscopy of membrane-associated and uniformly labeled human immunodeficiency virus and influenza fusion peptides: amino acid-type assignments and evidence for multiple conformations

Many viruses which cause disease including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and influenza are "enveloped" by a membrane and infection of a host cell begins with joining or "fusion" of the viral and target cell membranes. Fusion is catalyzed by viral proteins in the viral membrane. For HIV and for the influenza virus, these fusion proteins contain an approximately 20-residue apolar "fusion peptide" that binds to target cell membranes and plays a critical role in fusion. For this study, the HIV fusion peptide (HFP) and influenza virus fusion peptide (IFP) were chemically synthesized with uniform (13)C, (15)N labeling over large contiguous regions of amino acids. Two-dimensional (13)C-(13)C and (15)N-(13)C spectra were obtained for the membrane-bound fusion peptides and an amino acid-type (13)C assignment was obtained for the labeled residues in HFP and IFP. The membrane used for the HFP sample had a lipid headgroup and cholesterol composition comparable to that of host cells of the virus, and the (13)C chemical shifts were more consistent with beta strand conformation than with helical conformation. The membrane used for the IFP sample did not contain cholesterol, and the chemical shifts of the dominant peaks were more consistent with helical conformation than with beta strand conformation. There were additional peaks in the IFP spectrum whose shifts were not consistent with helical conformation. An unambiguous (13)C and (15)N assignment was obtained in an HFP sample with more selective labeling, and two shifts were identified for the Leu-9 CO, Gly-10 N, and Gly-10 Calpha nuclei. These sets of two shifts may indicate two beta strand registries such as parallel and antiparallel. Although most spectra were obtained on a 9.4 T instrument, one (13)C-(13)C correlation spectrum was obtained on a 16.4 T instrument and was better resolved than the comparable 9.4 T spectrum. More selective labeling and higher field may, therefore, be approaches to obtaining unambiguous assignments for membrane-associated fusion peptides.     

Measurement of in situ Monomer Sorption in Poly(propylene)

Summary: An experimental method has been developed to compare the amount of monomer absorbed in freshly produced poly(propylene) with the amount of monomer absorbed in the same material after degassing. It has been found that propylene sorption in freshly produced poly(propylene) is significantly higher than the sorption in the same but degassed polymer. The difference depends on the degree of drying and is time‐dependent. This fact can be an explanation for reduced activity often observed in the transition from liquid‐ to gas‐phase polymerization.

Pressure profile during the pressure‐swing part of the experiment.     

Simultaneous velocity and density measurements for an energy-based approach to internal waves generated over a ridge

We present experimental results of internal wave generation by the oscillation of a two-dimensional topography in a linearly stratified fluid. Simultaneous synthetic schlieren and particle image velocimetry high-resolution measurements are made in a series of experiments with different forcing frequencies, all other parameters being kept constant. This setup allows us to obtain the potential and kinetic components of the mechanical energy transported by the internal wave beam for different relative values of the maximum topographic slope to the slope of internal wave phase lines, in a quasi-linear regime. Measurements are carefully validated and a combined wavelet and principal component analysis are carried out to extract the most energetic physical processes associated with the internal waves. The duration of the transient regime is evaluated in order to consider only results during the steady regime. We discuss the evolution of the radiated mechanical energy with respect to the forcing frequency, and we show that it reaches a maximum in the near-critical regime, in good agreement with recent numerical and theoretical works. New insights are provided about the role played by the relative values of the maximum topographic slope and the internal wave beam slope in the efficiency of energy transfers from barotropic tide to radiated internal waves. This study is a step toward a better quantification of the energy transported away by internal waves and available for mixing the ocean.