Isotopic fingerprints of the Lake Żabińskie (NE Poland) hydrological system on contemporary carbonates precipitated in the lake

An isotopic monitoring was undertaken in 2012–2014 at Lake ?abińskie (Mazurian Lakeland, NE Poland). The aim was to identify the factors and processes controlling an isotopic composition of the lake water and to explore the mechanism responsible for recording the climatic signal in stable isotope composition of deposited carbonates. δ¹⁸O and δ²H in the precipitation, lake water column, inflows and outflow, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C in the carbonate fraction of sediments trapped in the water column were recorded with monthly resolution. A relationship between δ¹⁸O and δ²H in local precipitation was used to estimate the local meteoric water line. The dataset obtained for the water enabled to identify the modification of the water’s isotopic composition due to evaporation, connected with seasonal lake water stratification and mixing patterns. Statistically significant correlation coefficients suggest that the δ¹⁸O of the carbonate fraction in the sediment traps depends on the δ¹⁸O of rainfall water and on air temperature. The fractionation coefficient α shows that in summer months the carbonate precipitation process is closest to equilibrium. As expected for an exorheic lake, no significant correlation was observed between δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C in precipitated carbonate.     

Effect of Ionic and Non-Ionic Surfactant on Bovine Serum Albumin Encapsulation and Biological Properties of Emulsion-Electrospun Fibers

Emulsion electrospinning is a method of modifying a fibers’ surface and functional properties by encapsulation of the bioactive molecules. In our studies, bovine serum albumin (BSA) played the role of the modifier, and to protect the protein during the electrospinning process, the W/O (water-in-oil) emulsions were prepared, consisting of polymer and micelles formed from BSA and anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate–S) or nonionic (Tween 80–T) surfactant. It was found that the micelle size distribution was strongly dependent on the nature and the amount of the surfactant, indicating that a higher concentration of the surfactant results in a higher tendency to form smaller micelles (4–9 µm for S and 8–13 µm for T). The appearance of anionic surfactant micelles reduced the diameter of the fiber (100–700 nm) and the wettability of the nonwoven surface (up to 77°) compared to un-modified PCL polymer fibers (100–900 nm and 130°). The use of a non-ionic surfactant resulted in better loading efficiency of micelles with albumin (about 90%), lower wettability of the nonwoven fabric (about 25°) and the formation of larger fibers (100–1100 nm). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to detect the presence of the protein, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry was used to determine the loading efficiency and the nature of the release. The results showed that the location of the micelles influenced the release profiles of the protein, and the materials modified with micelles with the nonionic surfactant showed no burst release. The release kinetics was characteristic of the zero-order release model compared to anionic surfactants. The selected surfactant concentrations did not adversely affect the biological properties of fibrous substrates, such as high viability and low cytotoxicity of RAW macrophages 264.7.     

ChemInform Abstract: Influence of Nickel Substitution on the Cation Distribution and Magnetic Properties of ZnCr2Se4.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.     

Synthesis and antifungal activity of novel 5‐substituted 4‐(1,3,4‐thiadiazol‐2‐yl)benzene‐1,3‐diols

5‐Substituted (amine, alkyl, aryl, heterocyclic) 4‐(1,3,4‐thiadiazol‐2‐yl)benzene‐1,3‐ diols were synthesized, and their antifungal properties were examined. The compounds were obtained by the one‐pot reaction of sulfinylbis((2,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)methanethione) with hydrazides or thiosemicarbazides. Their structures were identified from elemental, IR, ¹H NMR, and MS spectra analyses. The activities of the derivatives against five phytopathogenic fungi in vitro were measured. Moderate fungicidal effect of the compounds under consideration was found. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 21:533–540, 2010; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20645     

Polarity identification of GaN bulk single crystals (0001) surface by Auger electron spectroscopy

An attempt to identify the polarity of (0001) polar surface of GaN bulk single crystals grown by high nitrogen pressure solution method has been made using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). AES concentration depth profiles of the top layer in (0001) direction starting from both (0001) faces of the sample have been measured. Distinct difference in the Ga concentration at the sample surface of both faces has been observed. The dependence of Ga eoncentration on depth is also different for both faces of the sample.