Co-adsorption of surfactants and water at inorganic solid surfaces

Computer simulations of the co-adsorption of water and methanoic acid at a range of surface features of calcite and fluorite minerals have shown that the relative adsorption energies for the two minerals are reversed when solvent effects are included in the calculations, a finding which is important in the search for effective surfactant reagents in flotation techniques, which are used extensively in the mining and pharmaceutical industries and in environmental remediation processes.     

Structured emulsion-based delivery systems: Controlling the digestion and release of lipophilic food components

There is a need for edible delivery systems to encapsulate, protect and release bioactive and functional lipophilic constituents within the food and pharmaceutical industries. These delivery systems could be used for a number of purposes: controlling lipid bioavailability; targeting the delivery of bioactive components within the gastrointestinal tract; and designing food matrices that delay lipid digestion and induce satiety. Emulsion technology is particularly suited for the design and fabrication of delivery systems for lipids. In this article we provide an overview of a number of emulsion-based technologies that can be used as edible delivery systems by the food and other industries, including conventional emulsions, nanoemulsions, multilayer emulsions, solid lipid particles, and filled hydrogel particles. Each of these delivery systems can be produced from food-grade (GRAS) ingredients (e.g., lipids, proteins, polysaccharides, surfactants, and minerals) using relatively simple processing operations (e.g., mixing, homogenizing, and thermal processing). The structure, preparation, and utilization of each type of delivery system for controlling lipid digestion are discussed. This knowledge can be used to select the most appropriate emulsion-based delivery system for specific applications, such as encapsulation, controlled digestion, and targeted release.     

Synthetic,layered nanoparticles for polymeric nanocomposites (PNCs)

This review discusses preparation and use of the synthetic layered nanoparticles in polymer matrices, i.e., in the polymeric nanocomposites (PNCs). Several types of synthetic or semi‐synthetic layered materials are considered, namely the phyllosilicates (clays), silicic acid (magadiite), layered double hydroxides (LDHs), zirconium phosphates (ZrPs), and di‐chalcogenides. The main advantage of synthetic clays is their chemical purity (e.g. absence of amorphous and gritty contaminants, as well as arsenic, iron, and other heavy metals), white to transparent color that assures reproducibly of brightly colored products, as well as a wide range of aspect ratios, p = 20 to ≤6000. Several large scale production facilities have been established. The synthetic clay and LDH industries are oriented toward big volume markets: catalysis, foodstuff, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, toiletry, etc. The use of these materials in PNCs is limited to synthetic clays and LDHs, mainly for reinforcement, permeability control, reduction of flammability, and stabilization, e.g. during dehydrohalogenation of chlorinated macromolecules. The use of lamellar ZrPs and di‐chalcogenides is at the laboratory stage of functional polymeric systems development, e.g. for electrically conductive materials, catalysts or support for catalysts, in photochemistry, molecular and chiral recognition, or in fuel cell technologies, etc. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrochemical polishing versus mechanical polishing of AISI 304: surface and electrochemical study

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - AISI 304 is essential for vital industries, e.g., aerospace, nuclear plants, pharmaceutical, chemical, and medical industries. Enhancement of AISI 304...     

Single-crystal trace element analysis in rock-forming minerals by instrumental neutron activation analysis

We have developed an INAA techniques for analyzing single crystals extracted from rocks. Trace element contents have been measured in a large variety of mineral species, as well as isotopic ratios of some REE in minerals related to natural fission reactions. The sensitivity of INAA allows to avoid the main shortcomings of usual mineral geochemistry: (1) only very short quantities of minerals are needed (down to a few g), so that even very sparse minerals could be analyzed, (2) purity of minerals is carefully checked, and (3) the heterogeneity of a population may be studied. The method is especially useful when applied to minerals acting as tracers for some element families, e.g. REE in Ca-bearing minerals (fluorite, apatite, titanite, gamet) and Zr-bearing minerals, or chalcophile elements (Co, Ni, As, Sb, Mo, Ag, Au and Se) in sulfides. We present an application of the method to the Oklo U deposit in Gabon showing that features outlined above are of special interest for the study of hydrothermal processes.     

Fe（Ⅱ）-矿物对亚硒酸的还原作用

79Se是核反应过程中产生的长半衰期（T1/2=2.95×105年）裂片产物核素,具有化学和辐射双重毒性,是高放废物地质处置中重点关注的几个放射性核素之一.硒的溶液化学性质比较特殊,以高价态形式存在的硒酸和亚硒酸,几乎不受溶解度控制,并难以被黏土或花岗岩等处置库围岩介质所吸附,迁移性极强,而当其以低价态（0、–I、–II）形式存在时,易形成固体沉淀.因此将高价态的硒还原生成沉淀是阻滞79Se迁移的最主要方式.从另一方面讲,Fe（II）-矿物是自然界中普遍存在的具有还原性的物质.本文对近年来国内外在Fe（II）-矿物还原亚硒酸方面开展的研究工作进行了一个回顾,并从热力学的角度,对这些矿物还原亚硒酸的可行性及控制产物生成的因素进行了分析.     

Bioinspired Heterocyclic Compounds as Corrosion Inhibitors: A Comprehensive Review

Corrosion is a phenomenon that devastatingly affects innovative, industrial, and mechanical applications, especially in the oil and gas industries. The corrosion conceivably influences industrial equipment; it deteriorates the environment and lessens the equipment/infrastructure's lifetime. Considering the significant impact of corrosion in our daily lives, this review article aims to briefly discuss the significance of corrosion and different control methods with special attention on corrosion inhibitors. The classification of corrosion inhibitors based on types and their advantage/limitations, and heterocyclic compounds as potential corrosion inhibitors, mainly nitrogen-based compounds (pyridine (1N), pyrimidine (2N), and triazines (3N) fused ring benzimidazole, etc.), and their biological significance has been discussed in detail. The mechanism, challenges, and applications of heterocyclic compounds as corrosion inhibitors in various industrial relevant corrosive environments such as acid pickling, descaling operation in the desalination plant, oil gas industry, etc., have also been highlighted in the review.     

Total Soluble Solids from Banana: Evaluation and Optimization of Extraction Parameters

Banana, an important component in the diet of the global population, is one of the most consumed fruits in the world. This fruit is also very favorable to industry processes (e.g., fermented beverages) due to its rich content on soluble solids and minerals, with low acidity. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of factors such as banana weight and extraction time during a hot aqueous extraction process on the total soluble solids content of banana. The extract is to be used by the food and beverage industries. The experiments were performed with 105 mL of water, considering the moisture of the ripe banana (65%). Total sugar concentrations were obtained in a beer analyzer and the result expressed in degrees Plato (°P, which is the weight of the extract or the sugar equivalent in 100 g solution at 20 °C), aiming at facilitating the use of these results by the beverage industries. After previous studies of characterization of the fruit and of ripening performance, a 2² full-factorial star design was carried out, and a model was developed to describe the behavior of the dependent variable (total soluble solids) as a function of the factors (banana weight and extraction time), indicating as optimum conditions for extraction 38.5 g of banana at 39.7 min.     

仿生矿化的机理和应用研究进展

碳酸钙、磷酸钙为代表的生物矿物广泛分布于自然界中,经过不同的矿化过程,在生物体内呈现出多样的结构、形貌和功能,构成生物体多种组织和器官.在人工材料合成领域,仿生矿化通过调控碳酸钙、磷酸钙等矿物的成核与生长,获得具有复杂高级结构和特殊生物功能的无机或无机/有机复合材料.本文重点介绍仿生矿化机理和应用的最近研究进展,包括仿...     

Emergent Soft Lithographic Tools for the Fabrication of Functional Polymeric Microstructures

Polymeric microstructures (PMs) are useful to a broad range of technologies applicable to, for example, sensing, energy storage, and soft robotics. Due to the diverse application space of PMs, many techniques (e. g., photolithography, 3D printing, micromilling, etc.) have been developed to fabricate these structures. Stemming from their generality and unique capabilities, the tools encompassed by soft lithography (e. g., replica molding, microcontact printing, etc.), which use soft elastomeric materials as masters in the fabrication of PMs, are particularly relevant. By taking advantage of the characteristics of elastomeric masters, particularly their mechanical and chemical properties, soft lithography has enabled the use of non-planar substrates and relatively inexpensive equipment in the generation of many types of PMs, redefining existing communities and creating new ones. Traditionally, these elastomeric masters have been produced from relief patterns fabricated using photolithography; however, recent efforts have led to the emergence of new methods that make use of masters that are self-forming, dynamic in their geometric and chemical properties, 3D in architecture, and/or sacrificial (i. e., easily removed/released using phase changes). These “next generation” soft lithographic masters include self-assembled liquid droplets, microscale balloons, templates derived from natural materials, and hierarchically microstructured surfaces. The new methods of fabrication supported by these unique masters enable access to numerous varieties of PMs (e. g., those with hierarchical microstructures, overhanging features, and 3D architectures) that would not be possible following established methods of soft lithography. This review explores these emergent soft lithographic methods, addressing their operational principles and the application space they can impact.     

Application of neutron activation analysis to determine the contents and isotopic ratios of elements in rocks and minerals

Data on the applicability of neutron activation analysis to determine various rare and trace elements and the isotopic abundance of some of them in natural samples are discussed as relevant to the solution of various geological and geochemical problems. For the determination of minute amounts of elements from small weighed quantities of rocks and minerals a number of modifications of neutron activation analysis are used: analysis with the radiochemical separation of individual elements—RNAA (tantalum, tungsten, antimony, arsenic, molybdenum, rhenium, osmium, etc.) and analysis with semiconductor—Ge (Li)—gamma-spectrometry, which is multi-element and non-destructuve—INAA (scandium, europium, tantalum, iron caesium, rubidium, cobalt, antimony, etc.) or the combination of the latter with group radiochemical separation—IRNAA (alkaline, alkaline-earth, rare-earth elements, etc.). First steps have been made towards developing techniques for the determination of the isotopic rations of some elements by means of neutron activation method, e.g., the isotopic ratio of⁵⁸Fe/⁵⁴Fe. The accuracy of isotopic ratio determination is 1 to 3 relative per cent.     

Calculating similarities between biological activities in the MDL Drug Data Report database

There are a number of licensed databases that assign biological activities to druglike compounds. The MDL Drug Data Report (MDDR), compiled from the patent literature, is a popular example. It contains several hundred distinct activities, some of which are therapeutic areas (e.g., Antihypertensive) and some of which are related to specific enzymes or receptors (e.g., ACE inhibitor). There are several data mining applications where it would be useful to calculate a similarity between any two activities. Two distinct activity labels can have a significant similarity for a number of reasons: two activities can be nearly synonymous (e.g., CCK B antagonist vs Gastrin antagonist), one activity may be a subset of another (e.g., Dopamine (D2) agonist vs Dopamine agonist), or an activity can be the mechanism by which another activity works (e.g., ACE inhibitor vs Antihypertensive), etc. In an ideal world, similarities for two activities could be calculated simply by comparing the compounds they have in common, but in hand-curated databases such as the MDDR the assignment of activities to compounds are inevitably inconsistent and incomplete. We propose a number of methods of calculating activity-activity similarities that hopefully compensate for errors in hand-curation. Two of these, TIMI and trend vector, show promise. Soft clustering of the activities using a union of similarity methods shows a reasonable association of therapeutic areas with their mechanisms.     

环境监测实验室管理系统的开发与应用

基于2005版《计量认证/审查认可(验收)评审准则》要求,为满足环境监测实验室业务流程而设计开发了信息管理系统。该系统主要用于环境监测实验室的资源管理和日常自动化办公。系统采用B/S架构,实现全球化办公运作,能对监测样品的受理、分发、分析、原始记录、监测报告、数据三级审核、报告签发实现全程自动流转,并运用工作流和智能表单设计实现实验室程序文件中各类程序和日常办公事务流程的执行;原始记录和监测报告全部实现自动归档及智能查询;同时根据2005版准则中的要求,对人员、设备、材料、环境要素、记录、质量控制等所有要素全面实施网络化管理。     

Quantitative mineralogical properties (morphology-chemistry-structure) of pharmaceutical grade kaolinites and recommendations to regulatory agencies

The physical and chemical characteristics of kaolinite (kaolin) may be variable, and minor amounts of other clay minerals, nonclay minerals, and other impurities may affect the properties of kaolinites. Thus specific technical properties of pharmaceutical grade kaolinites become very important because these clays are used in medical applications, e.g., as pharmaceutical excipients, and will be consumed by humans. Seven pharmaceutical grade kaolinite specimens were used in this study: K1004, KA105, 2242-01, K2-500, Acros, Acros-mono, and KX0007-1. In addition, two kaolinites from the Clay Minerals Society Source Clays, KGa-1b and KGa-2, were used for comparison purposes. The Acros-mono and 2242-01 kaolinites contained minor amounts of illite, which was demonstrated both compositionally and structurally by using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. The KX0007-1 kaolinite powder was found to be heavily contaminated with quartz, cristobalite, and alunite. Crystal structure computations also showed excess Si in its tetrahedral site, and the mineral no longer has the typical kaolinite crystal structure. These widely-used industrial standards should be quantitatively characterized morphologically, compositionally, and structurally. Results of the mineralogical characteristics should be clearly labeled on the pharmaceutical grade kaolinites and reported to the relevant regulatory agencies.     

CO2-水-页岩相互作用的研究现状及展望

简要综述了CO2、水和页岩间矿物的相互作用,分析了CO2注入到地下进入页岩层后,地下含水层pH值的变化,并根据页岩层的矿物学组成分为黏土矿物和脆性矿物,较为详细地描述了CO2与黏土矿物和脆性矿物之间发生的地球化学反应,概述了此反应对页岩层孔隙度和渗透率的影响。同时,也讨论了CO2增强页岩气开采的现实问题及发展趋势,为今后的研究提供了参考。     

近红外发光稀土配合物及杂化材料研究进展

稀土因其特殊的物理和化学性质,在信息技术、能源技术、生物技术等高科技领域及国防建设等方面都起着非常重要的作用,中国作为稀土大国,十分重视对稀土材料的研究和开发。稀土离子近红外发光(750～1700 nm)在激光和光纤通讯、医学诊断、免疫分析等热门领域的潜在应用,受到了科研人员的极大关注。稀土离子本身发光极弱,通过分子内传能有机配体可以敏化稀土离子发光,但稀土配合物常受外界干扰,其稳定性较差,若将其与凝胶、介孔材料、离子液体等无机基质复合,得到具有良好光、热稳定性和化学稳定性的有机/无机杂化材料。总结了近些年来近红外发光稀土配合物及近红外发光稀土杂化材料的研究进展,并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

Boltwoodite [K(UO2)(SiO3OH)(H2O)1.5] and compreignacite K2[(UO2)3O2(OH)3]2.7H2O characterized by laser fluorescence spectroscopy

Synthetically prepared boltwoodite and compreignacite were characterized with time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). The obtained TRLFS emission spectra of both synthesized uranium minerals differ from each other in their positions of the vibronic peak maxima and in their fluorescence lifetimes. Also, the shapes of the spectra and their respective intensities are different. The TRLFS-spectrum of boltwoodite showed well-resolved sharp vibronic peaks at 485.1, 501.5, 521.2, 543.0, 567.4, and 591.4nm with deep notches between them and compreignacite is characterized by two broad peaks with various shoulders. Here five emission bands were identified at 500.7, 516.1, 532.4, 554.3, and 579.6nm. The shape of the TRLFS spectra of compreignacite is typical for uranium in a hydroxide coordination environment. For both minerals two fluorescence lifetimes were extracted. The two species of boltwoodite and compreignacite, respectively, showed the same positions of the peak maxima showing that the coordination environments are similar, but differ in the chemistry and number of possible quenchers, e.g. water molecules and hydroxide groups. For boltwoodite fluorescence lifetimes of 382 and 2130ns, and for compreignacite shorter ones of 202 and 914ns, respectively, were determined. The spectroscopic signatures of the two uranyl minerals reported here could be useful for identifying uranyl(VI) mineral species as colloids, as thin coatings on minerals, as minor component in soils, or as alteration products of nuclear waste.     

Use of ion chromatography for monitoring microbial spoilage in the fruit juice industry

Fruit juices and purees are defined as fermentable, but unfermented, products obtained by mechanical processing of fresh fruits. The presence of undesired metabolites derived from microbial growth can arise from the use of unsuitable fruit or from defects in the production line or subsequent contamination. This involves a loss in the overall quality that cannot be resolved by thermal treatment following the start of fermentation. With these considerations, together with microbiological control, the analysis of different metabolites, which can be considered as microbial growth markers, such as alcohols (i.e. ethanol, etc.), acids (i.e. acetic, fumaric, lactic, etc.). is fundamental in order to achieve a better evaluation of product quality. Enzymatic determination and other single-component analytical techniques are often used for the determination of these metabolites. When the microbial spoilage is not well known, this results in a long and cumbersome procedure. A versatile technique that is capable of determining many metabolites in one analysis could be helpful in improving routine quality control. For this purpose, an ion chromatographic technique, such as ion exclusion, for separation, and diode array spectrophotometry and conductivity, for detection, were evaluated. Both different industrial samples and inoculated samples were analyzed.