Dilute oral iron solutions as gastrointestinal contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging; initial clinical experience

Delineation of the gastrointestinal tract in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remains a problem. Ferric ammonium citrate is paramagnetic, producing a high MRI signal intensity by virtue of its spin-lattice (T1) relaxation rate enhancement properties. Water is diamagnetic, producing a low MRI signal intensity, especially with short TR and TE times. To compare efficacy for gastrointestinal contrast alteration, ferric ammonium citrate was administered to 18 patients and water was given to 10 patients. Spin-echo imaging at 0.35T was performed after administration of these agents. Ferric ammonium citrate produced high signal intensity within the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and small intestine that aided in the differentiation of the gastrointestinal tract from adjacent tumors, vessels, and viscera. Delineation of the gut wall was superior using ferric ammonium citrate compared to that produced by water. Delineation of the margins of the pancreas, liver, and kidney from adjacent gastrointestinal tract was also better with ferric ammonium citrate. Optimal distinction between bowel and fat was better with water. Longer TE times (75 to 200 ms) may allow improved contrast between gut and intrabdominal fat using ferric ammonium citrate.     

Enteric MRI contrast agents: comparative study of five potential agents in humans.

We compared the effectiveness of 1 mM Geritol, 12% corn oil emulsion, Kaolin-pectin, single contrast oral barium sulfate, and effervescent granules as enteric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. Five volunteers were recruited. Each volunteer ingested for examinations, separated by at least one week, either 500 ml of each of the liquid preparations or two packets of the CO2 granules (producing 400 ml of CO2 per packet). Abdominal MR images were then obtained using a 1.5 T Magnetom imager and SE 550/22, SE 2000/45/90 and FISP 40/18/40 degrees pulse sequences. The oil emulsions were best tolerated. Barium sulfate caused the greatest amount of nausea, followed by Geritol and Kaolin-pectin. With FISP 40/18/40 degrees, 60%-80% of the small bowel was well delineated using oil emulsion, Kaolin-pectin, or barium sulfate. We conclude that oil emulsion was by far the best enteric MR contrast agent in our study. Good delineation of the small bowel and pancreas can be achieved using oil emulsion and gradient echo pulse sequences. The lack of side-effects and the excellent taste make it highly acceptable to human subjects.     

结合有效介质理论的乳状液太赫兹光谱分析

原油乳状液对原油的长距离输运具有重要影响,乳状液的油、水状态及相互作用机制还需新理论和新方法获得新认识,基于有效介质理论,本文研究了原油乳状液太赫兹光谱响应特征.通过太赫兹时域光谱系统测试得到了含水率为0～28％的原油乳状液的太赫兹时域光谱,结合傅里叶变换计算了吸收系数和介电常数等光学参数,同一频率下吸收系数等光学参数...     

Ultrasound and basic electrolyzed water: A green approach to reduce the technological defects caused by NaCl reduction in meat emulsions

Meat emulsions were prepared by replacing water with basic electrolyzed water (BEW) and reducing NaCl content by 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50%. The emulsions were sonicated in an ultrasound bath (25 kHz, 175 W, normal mode) for 0, 10, and 20 min. The physicochemical (pH, redox potential, water activity, and color parameters) and technological (cooking yield, emulsion stability, and texture) characteristics were evaluated. The US operation time of 20 min improved the emulsion stability, cooking yield, and texture of the emulsions with 10% and 20% NaCl reduction. The BEW-treated emulsions exhibited good fat retention and moderate water retention capacity. The combination of US and BEW for 20 min provided good emulsion stability and cooking yield for the formulations with up to 30% NaCl reduction, which exhibited texture profile similar to the control (0% NaCl reduction). Therefore, it is possible to produce reduced-salt meat emulsions using the combination of US and BEW.     

Influence of milk fat globule membrane and milk protein concentrate treated by ultrasound on the structural and emulsifying stability of mimicking human fat emulsions

The primary objective of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of ultrasonic treatment time on the particle size, molecular weight, microstructure and solubility of milk fat globule membrane (rich in phospholipid, MPL) and milk protein concentrate (MPC). The mimicking human fat emulsions were prepared using modified proteins and compound vegetable oil and the structural, emulsifying properties and encapsulation efficiency of emulsions were evaluated. After ultrasonic treatment, the cavitation caused particle size decreased and structure change of both MPL and MPC, resulting in the enhancement of protein solubility. While, there was no significant change in molecular weight. Modified proteins by ultrasonic may cause a reduction in particle size and an improvement in emulsifying stability and encapsulation efficiency of emulsions. The optimal ultrasonic time to improve functional properties of MPL emulsion and MPC emulsion were 3 min and 6 min, respectively. The emulsifying stability of MPL emulsion was superior to MPC emulsion, which indicated that MPL is more suitable as membrane material to simulate human fat. Therefore, the obtained results can provide basis for quality control of infant formula.     

甲酸根离子均匀掺杂的卤化银中的光电子特性

甲酸根离子(HCO-2)作为一种“空穴-电子转换剂”掺杂在卤化银中,可以提高潜影形成过程中光电子的利用率,俘获光生空穴,减少潜影形成过程中电子-空穴复合所造成的电子损失;同时还可以释放一个电子,提高感光效率。采用微波吸收介电谱检测技术,检测了不同浓度甲酸根离子均匀掺杂的立方体AgCl和AgBr乳剂在脉冲激光作用下所产生的光电子衰减信号。通过比较光电子的衰减时间和寿命,分析了甲酸根离子的空穴陷阱效应对立方体AgCl和AgBr乳剂中光电子衰减行为的影响,并得到了最佳均匀掺杂浓度（10^-5mol/molAg）。     

基于荧光光谱的轻质油乳化物油水比估测研究

海面溢油在其风化迁移过程中,会形成不同溢油乳化物,对海洋环境造成极大危害。科学量化溢油乳化物,有助于溢油污染应急处理和灾损评估。已有对溢油乳化物展开的研究由于缺乏系统的实验数据、理化与光学参数,尚不清楚不同类型油水乳化物的精细光谱响应特征与变化规律,无法给出不同类型溢油乳化物光谱与海水表层油水比的数据关系。通过轻质油乳化物的室内实验,采用激光诱导荧光技术手段,从不同类型,不同表层油水比的溢油乳化物荧光光谱响应差异和变化规律入手,以乳化柴油相关数据作建模样本,乳化煤油相关数据作验证样本,开展统计分析,并分别设计了油包水、水包油两种类型下的表层油水比估测模型。数据处理过程中,为了消除LIF系统本身对接收到的荧光信号强度的影响,利用水的拉曼散射信号对乳化液的荧光信号进行归一化处理,将两者的比值作为后续的分析数据。具体数据研究表明：油包水型乳化溢油的荧光峰值对数和表层含水率对数之间可建立非线性回归模型;水包油型乳化溢油的荧光峰值和表层含水率之间也可建立非线性回归模型。非线性拟合相关系数均在0.9以上,即模型具有较高质量,且模型中的实际系数依赖于不同油种,不同的特征荧光峰。由此可见,不同乳化油种的不同特征荧光峰与表层油水比之间虽具有相同的变化趋势,但变化的程度有所不同。在此基础上,采用参数查找表的方式,建立了轻质油乳化物油水比的估测方法,可根据荧光相对强度最后反演得到表层油水比。该方法在一定程度上可对海面轻质油乳化物实现有效量化,为将来海面溢油乳化物更加实时准确的定量分析提供理论基础和依据, 也为海面溢油污染应急处理提供技术参考,因此具有重要研究意义和实用价值。     

Water diffusion-exchange effect on the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement in off-resonance rotating frame

The off-resonance rotating frame technique based on the spin relaxation properties of off-resonance T1rho can significantly increase the sensitivity of detecting paramagnetic labeling at high magnetic fields by MRI. However, the in vivo detectable dimension for labeled cell clusters/tissues in T1rho-weighted images is limited by the water diffusion-exchange between mesoscopic scale compartments. An experimental investigation of the effect of water diffusion-exchange between compartments on the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement of paramagnetic agent compartment is presented for in vitro/in vivo models. In these models, the size of paramagnetic agent compartment is comparable to the mean diffusion displacement of water molecules during the long RF pulses that are used to generate the off-resonance rotating frame. The three main objectives of this study were: (1) to qualitatively correlate the effect of water diffusion-exchange with the RF parameters of the long pulse and the rates of water diffusion, (2) to explore the effect of water diffusion-exchange on the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement in vitro, and (3) to demonstrate the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement in vivo. The in vitro models include the water permeable dialysis tubes or water permeable hollow fibers embedded in cross-linked proteins gels. The MWCO of the dialysis tubes was chosen from 0.1 to 15 kDa to control the water diffusion rate. Thin hollow fibers were chosen to provide sub-millimeter scale compartments for the paramagnetic agents. The in vivo model utilized the rat cerebral vasculatures as a paramagnetic agent compartment, and intravascular agents (Gd-DTPA)30-BSA were administrated into the compartment via bolus injections. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement is predominant in the T1rho-weighted image in the presence of water diffusion-exchange. The T1rho contrast has substantially higher sensitivity than the conventional T1 contrast in detecting paramagnetic agents, especially at low paramagnetic agent volumetric fractions, low paramagnetic agent concentrations, and low RF amplitudes. Short pulse duration, short pulse recycle delay and efficient paramagnetic relaxation can reduce the influence of water diffusion-exchange on the paramagnetic enhancement. This study paves the way for the design of off-resonance rotating experiments to detect labeled cell clusters/tissue compartments in vivo at a sub-millimeter scale.     

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure and high dynamic pressure on stability and rheological properties of model oil-in-water emulsions

Both static and dynamic high pressure applications provide interesting modifications in food structures which lead to new product formulations. In this study, the effects of two different treatments, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) and high dynamic pressure (HDP), on oil-in-water emulsions were identified and compared. Microfluidization was selected from among the HDP homogenization techniques. The performance of each process was analyzed in terms of rheological modifications and emulsion stability improvements compared with the coarse emulsions. The stability of the emulsions was determined comparatively by using an analytical photo-centrifuge device employing novel analysis technology. Whey protein isolate (WPI) in combination with a food polysaccharide (xanthan gum, guar gum or locust bean gum) were used as emulsifying and stabilizing ingredients. The effective disruption of oil droplets and the degradation of polysaccharides by the shear forces under high pressure in HDP microfluidization yielded finer emulsions with lower viscosities, leading to distinctive improvements in emulsion stability. On the other hand, improvements in stability obtained with HHP treatment were due to the thickening of the emulsions mainly induced by protein unfolding. The corresponding increases in viscosity were intensified in emulsion formulations containing higher oil content. Apart from these, HHP treatment was found to be relatively more contributive to the enhancements in viscoelastic properties.     

Evaporation of an emulsion trapped in a yield stress fluid

The present work deals with emulsions of volatile alkanes in an aqueous clay suspension, Laponite, which forms a yield stress fluid. For a large enough yield stress (i.e. Laponite concentration), the oil droplets are prevented from creaming and the emulsions are thus mechanically stabilized. We have studied the evaporation kinetics of the oil phase of those emulsions in contact with the atmosphere. We show that the evaporation process is characterized by the formation of a sharp front separating the emulsion from a droplet-free Laponite phase, and that the displacement of the front vs. time follows a diffusion law. Experimental data are confronted to a diffusion-controlled model, in the case where the limiting step is the diffusion of the dissolved oil through the aqueous phase. The nature of the alkane, as well as its volume fraction in the emulsion, has been varied. Quantitative agreement with the model is achieved without any adjustable parameter and we describe the mechanism leading to the formation of a front.     

柴油、乙醇和水三组元乳化液流变特性的研究

研究了柴油、乙醇和水三组元乳化液的流变特性。实验发现乳化液在本文的组分配比下近似为牛顿流体,而且乳化剂的种类、含量以及乳化液的组分等均对乳化液的流变特性具有显著的影响。对于组分相同的乳化液,乳化液的粘度随着乳化剂含量和粘度的增加而增加;当乳化剂的含量和粘度相同时,若乙醇和水之间的相对质量分数保持不变,减少乳化液中柴油的含量(柴油不少于50％),乳化液的粘度随之增加。但是,柴油、乙醇和水三组元乳化液的粘度要比柴油、甲醇和水三组元乳化液的粘度大2到3倍。     

Ultrasound assisted preparation of water in oil emulsions and their application in arsenic (V) removal from water in an emulsion liquid membrane process

Water in oil emulsions are prepared by using an ultra-sonication device and used in an emulsion liquid membrane process in order to recover arsenic (V) ions from an aqueous medium. The aim of this work is the investigation of the effect of emulsifier concentration and composition, and also sonication time on the emulsion droplet size and the extraction efficiency in order to obtain stable emulsions with small droplets that favor the extraction. Results show that ultrasonic waves reduce internal droplet size which enhances the extraction of arsenic. In addition, internal droplet size is decreased initially and then increased by increasing Span 80 concentration. On the other hand, by increasing Span 80 concentration, extraction amount is increased and then decreased. Furthermore, emulsifier blends provide more stability for the emulsion. Increasing concentration of Tween 20 as a hydrophilic emulsifier up to an optimum concentration decreases internal droplet size and increases extraction amount. By increasing sonication time up to 4 min, the internal droplet size is decreased and the extraction amount is increased. If sonication time is increased further, the internal droplet size is increased and the extraction amount is decreased.     

Thermodynamically stable pickering emulsions

We show that under appropriate conditions, mixtures of oil, water, and nanoparticles form thermodynamically stable oil-in-water emulsions with monodisperse droplet diameters in the range of 30-150 nm. This observation challenges current wisdom that so-called Pickering emulsions are at most metastable and points to a new class of mesoscopic equilibrium structures. Thermodynamic stability is demonstrated by the spontaneous evolution of binary droplet mixtures towards one intermediate size distribution. Equilibrium interfacial curvature due to an asymmetric charge distribution induced by adsorbed colloids explains the growth of emulsion droplets upon salt addition. Moreover, the existence of a minimal radius of curvature with a concomitant expulsion of excess oil is in close analogy with microemulsions.     

离子型表面活性剂对双重乳粒分散性能的影响

为了改善臭氧处理PS单层球与PVA溶液生成的双重乳粒在油相中的分散性,采用了低分子量阴离子型表面活性剂十二烷基硫酸钠（SDS）和十二烷基苯磺酸钠（SDBS）及高分子量混合型表面活性剂十八烷基胺聚氧乙烯醚双季铵盐（PAVDA）来改性该种PS单层球,测试并分析了不同表面活性剂对相应薄膜亲水接触角及其对PVA吸附速率的影响,同时也考察并对比了静电排斥作用和空间位阻作用对双重乳粒分散性的影响。实验结果表明这三种表面活性剂均能不同程度的改善双重乳粒在油相中的分散性。其中,经SDS和SDBS处理后,双重乳粒在油相中固化时会发生絮凝作用而无法以较高成活率制得大尺寸双层球;经PAVDA处理PS单层球后,实现了以较高的成活率制得700~900 m的PS-PVA双层空心微球。同时,也表明在改善PS单层球的分散性方面,空间位阻稳定作用较静电排斥作用更为有效。     

离子型表面活性剂对双重乳粒分散性能的影响

为了改善臭氧处理PS单层球与PVA溶液生成的双重乳粒在油相中的分散性,采用了低分子量阴离子型表面活性剂十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)和十二烷基苯磺酸钠(SDBS)及高分子量混合型表面活性剂十八烷基胺聚氧乙烯醚双季铵盐(PAVDA)来改性该种PS单层球,测试并分析了不同表面活性剂对相应薄膜亲水接触角及其对PVA吸附速率的影响,同时也考察并对比了静电排斥作用和空间位阻作用对双重乳粒分散性的影响。实验结果表明这三种表面活性剂均能不同程度的改善双重乳粒在油相中的分散性。其中,经SDS和SDBS处理后,双重乳粒在油相中固化时会发生絮凝作用而无法以较高成活率制得大尺寸双层球;经PAVDA处理PS单层球后,实现了以较高的成活率制得700~900μm的PS-PVA双层空心微球。同时,也表明在改善PS单层球的分散性方面,空间位阻稳定作用较静电排斥作用更为有效。     

Time evolution of enhanced ultrasonic reflection using a fibrin-targeted nanoparticulate contrast agent

Complex molecular signaling heralds the early stages of pathologies such as angiogenesis, inflammation, unstable atherosclerotic plaques, and areas of remote thrombi. In previous studies, acoustic enhancement of blood clot morphology was demonstrated with the use of a nongaseous, fibrin-targeted acoustic nanoparticle emulsion delivered to areas of thrombosis both in vitro and in vivo. In this study, a system was designed and constructed that allows visualization of the evolution of acoustic contrast enhancement. To evaluate the system, two targets were examined: avidin-complexed nitrocellulose membrane and human plasma clots. The time evolution of enhancement was visualized in 10-min increments for 1 h. A monotonic increase was observed in ultrasonic reflection enhancement from specially treated nitrocellulose membranes for targeted emulsions containing perfluorooctylbromide (1.30+/-0.3 dB) and for perfluorooctane (2.64+/-0.5 dB) within the first 60 min of imaging. In comparison, the inherently nonechogenic plasma clots showed a substantial increase of 12.0+/-0.9 dB when targeted with a perfluoro-octane emulsion. This study demonstrates the concept of molecular imaging and provides the first quantifiable time-evolution report of the binding of a site-targeted ultrasonic contrast agent. Moreover, with the incorporation of specific drug treatments into the nanoparticulate contrast agent, ultrasonic molecular imaging may yield reliable detection and quantification of nascent pathologies and facilitate targeted drug therapy.     

火焰原子吸收光谱法中乳浊液的增敏效应

提出了用乳浊液作增敏剂的FAAS增敏方法。研究了由3种有机溶剂（苯、二甲苯、苯-丙酮）、1种有机试剂（邻苯二甲酸二丁酯）、3种乳化剂（Tween-80，TritionX-100，OP）组成的乳浊液对铁、镍、锌、锰、铅的增敏效应。结果表明，增敏效应显著，对以上5种元素最大增敏百分数分别为89%，34%，121%，38i％。     

Study on the emulsification and oxidative stability of ovalbumin-pectin-pumpkin seed oil emulsions using ovalbumin solution prepared by ultrasound

Pumpkin seed oil (PSO), which is a valuable compound with high nutritional value used for the prevention of various chronic diseases, is prone to oxidation. In this work, small and uniform (su) ovalbumin (OVA) and pectin (PEC) were used to stabilize PSO in the form of an emulsion. The results showed that suOVA-PEC-PSO emulsion with a droplet size of 9.82 ± 0.05 μm was successfully self-assembled from PSO, PEC, and suOVA solution (with a droplet size of 230.13 ± 14.10 nm) treated with 300 W ultrasound, owing to the formation of a more stable interfacial film on the surface of droplets. The interfacial, rheological, emulsifying, and antioxidant properties of the suOVA-PES-PSO emulsions were excellent, owing to the synergistic effects between PEC and suOVA solution. Moreover, the physical stability of the suOVA-PEC-PSO emulsions to salt stress, a freeze-thaw cycle, and heat treatment was also increased and the oxidation of linolenic acid was notably delayed. These results have extended the food-related applications of OVA and PSO, and provide a promising foundation for further exploration of the self-assembly of composite emulsions by small and uniform proteins.     

High pressure inactivation of Clostridium botulinum type E endospores in model emulsion systems

Clostridium botulinum type E is a cold-tolerant, neurotoxigenic, endospore-forming organism, primarily associated with aquatic environments. High pressure thermal (HPT) processing presents a promising tool to enhance food safety and stability. The effect of fat on HPT inactivation of C. botulinum type E spores was investigated using an emulsion model system. The distribution of spores in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions and their HPT (300–750?MPa, 45–75?°C, 10?min) inactivation was determined as a function of emulsion fat content (30–70% (v/v) soybean oil in buffer). Approximately 26% and 74% of the spores were located at the oil–buffer interface and the continuous phase, respectively. Spore inactivation in emulsion systems decreased with increasing oil contents, which suggests that the fat content of food plays an important role in the protection of C. botulinum type E endospores against HPT treatments. These results can be helpful for future safety considerations.     

Solid-stabilized emulsion formation using stearoyl lactylate coated iron oxide nanoparticles

Iron oxide nanoparticles can exhibit highly tunable physicochemical properties that are extremely important in applications such as catalysis, biomedicine and environmental remediation. The small size of iron oxide nanoparticles can be used to stabilize oil-in-water Pickering emulsions due to their high energy of adsorption at the interface of oil droplets in water. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of the primary particle characteristics and stabilizing agent chemistry on the stability of oil-in-water Pickering emulsions. Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by the co-precipitation method using stoichiometric amounts of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ salts. Sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL), a Food and Drug Administration approved food additive, was used to functionalize the iron oxide nanoparticles. SSL is useful in the generation of fat-in-water emulsions due to its high hydrophilic–lipophilic balance and its bilayer-forming capacity. Generation of a monolayer or a bilayer coating on the nanoparticles was controlled through systematic changes in reagent concentrations. The coated particles were then characterized using various analytical techniques to determine their size, their crystal structure and surface functionalization. The capacity of these bilayer coated nanoparticles to stabilize oil-in-water emulsions under various salt concentrations and pH values was also systematically determined using various characterization techniques. This study successfully demonstrated the ability to synthesize iron oxide nanoparticles (20–40 nm) coated with SSL in order to generate stable Pickering emulsions that were pH-responsive and resistant to significant destabilization in a saline environment, thereby lending themselves to applications in advanced oil spill recovery and remediation.