The increase of iron phytoavailability in soils ammended with paper mill sludge

In soils characterized by low organic matter and high pH values (7.5-8.59) iron availability to plants is limited even if the content of total Fe(III) is high. We have studied by Hordeum distichum plants the capability of paper mill sludge to increase the iron phytoavailable fraction in an alkaline soil. The effect of paper mill sludges adding to an iron-deficient soil was evaluated both considering the phyto-available fraction of iron and the distribution of organic carbon (hydrophobic, fulvic and humic carbon) in the soil before and after sludge adding. Iron concentration was determined in the different portions of Hordeum distichum plants grown on soils with and without paper mill sludges. Application of paper mill sludge induces an increase in the concentration of available Fe. This effect is probably due to the production of Fe chelators by soil microorganisms acting on sludge organic matter. The Fe chelators produced result in the solubilization of not soluble Fe-complexes present in the soil.     

High-performance liquid chromatography of lactose with evaporative light scattering detection, applied to determine fine particle dose of carrier in dry powder inhalation products

A method for quantification of the fine particle dose of lactose is described, using a hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) method and evaporative light scattering detection. The HILIC method used an aminopropyl column and a mobile phase consisting of acetonitril/water (80/20, v/v) for isocratic elution. Sensitive chromatography was obtained using a low concentration of water in the extraction solvent. The detection limit (RSD<10%) at an injection volume of 10 microL is 10 microg/mL. Linearity was obtained in the range of 10-80 microg/mL (R(2)>0.99). A relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.5% (N=6) demonstrated good precision of the optimized method.     

Sodium dodecyl sulfate promoting a cooperative association process of sodium cholate with bovine serum albumin

Sodium cholate (NaC) was used as a representative bile salt in the process of cooperative binding to bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a mixture with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The experiments were performed in 0.02 M Tris-HCl buffer solution (pH 7.50), in the presence of 0.1% BSA and at 25 degrees C. The aim of this study is to provide information on the performance of the BSA in the promotion of cooperative binding of sodium cholate promoted by the presence of SDS. The method used to monitor the binding was based on the analysis of the effect of SDS and NaC concentrations and their mixtures upon the fluorescence intensity of the BSA tryptophan residues. Plots of the fluorescence emission bands in terms of the A0/A ratio vs surfactant concentrations, where A0 and A represent the areas of emission bands in the presence and absence of the surfactants, respectively, were drawn in order to investigate the surfactant interaction with the protein. An alternative methodology, the specific conductivity vs surfactant concentration plots, was used, which involves mixtures of SDS and NaC to investigate the association processes, through the determination of the critical aggregation concentration (cac, when in the presence of protein) and the critical micellar concentration (cmc). The results led to a general conclusion that as the mixed micellar aggregates become richer in the bile salt monomer, the tendency to lose the reactivity with the protein increases. According to our results, a clear evidence of the predomination of BSA-SDS-NaC complexes is found only for the SDS molar fraction above approximately 0.6, and below this fraction a tendency toward free mixed micelles starts to predominate.     

Everywhere regularity of functionals with <Emphasis Type="Italic">φ</Emphasis>-growth

We prove C ^1,α -regularity for local minimizers of functionals with φ-growth, giving also the decay estimate. In particular, we present a unified approach in the case of power-type functions. Supported by PRIN Project: “Calcolo delle variazioni e Teoria Geometrica della Misura”.     

Reentrant and isostructural transitions in a cluster-crystal former

We study the low-temperature behavior of a simple cluster-crystal forming system through simulation. We find the phase diagram to be hybrid between the Gaussian core model and the penetrable sphere model. The system additionally exhibits S-shaped doubly reentrant phase sequences as well as critical isostructural transitions between crystals of different average lattice site occupancy. Because of the possible annihilation of lattice sites and accompanying clustering, the system moreover shows an unusual softening upon compression.     

Computer assembly of cluster-forming amphiphilic dendrimers

Recent theoretical studies have predicted a new clustering mechanism for soft matter particles that interact via a certain kind of purely repulsive, bounded potentials. At sufficiently high densities, clusters of overlapping particles are formed in the fluid, which upon further compression crystallize into cubic lattices with density-independent lattice constants. In this work we show that amphiphilic dendrimers are suitable colloids for the experimental realization of this phenomenon. Thereby, we pave the way for the synthesis of such macromolecules, which form the basis for a novel class of materials with unusual properties.     

Structural study of thin films prepared from tungstate glass matrix by Raman and X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Thin films were prepared using glass precursors obtained in the ternary system NaPO₃BaF₂WO₃ and the binary system NaPO₃WO₃ with high concentrations of WO₃ (above 40% molar). Vitreous samples have been used as a target to prepare thin films. Such films were deposited using the electron beam evaporation method onto soda-lime glass substrates. Several structural characterizations were performed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) at the tungsten L_I and L_III absorption edges. XANES investigations showed that tungsten atoms are only sixfold coordinated (octahedral WO₆) and that these films are free of tungstate tetrahedral units (WO₄). In addition, Raman spectroscopy allowed identifying a break in the linear phosphate chains as the amount of WO₃ increases and the formation of POW bonds in the films network indicating the intermediary behavior of WO₆ octahedra in the film network. Based on XANES data, we suggested a new attribution of several Raman absorption bands which allowed identifying the presence of WO⁻ and WO terminal bonds and a progressive apparition of WOW bridging bonds for the most WO₃ concentrated samples (above 40% molar) attributed to the formation of WO₆ clusters.     

Preformulation studies for atorvastatin calcium

This paper deals with the study of compatibility between antihyperlipidemic agent atorvastatin calcium trihydrate (ATV) and eight pharmaceutical excipients used in the development of solid dosage forms, namely citric acid, anhydrous lactose, magnesium citrate, magnesium carbonate, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone K30, colloidal silica and sorbitol. As investigational tools, universal attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffractogram patterns were used for binary mixtures of ATV with each excipient at ambient condition and then completed by subjecting the samples to thermal stress using thermal analysis (TG/DTG/HF), in non-isothermal conditions and in oxidative medium. It was shown the binary mixtures do not present interactions between ATV and excipients when stored under ambient conditions for 2 months, while under thermal stress, ATV presents interactions with sorbitol.

     

Experimental demonstration of a laterally deformable optical nanoelectromechanical system grating transducer

We experimentally demonstrate operation of a laterally deformable optical nanoelectromechanical system grating transducer. The device is fabricated in amorphous diamond with standard lithographic techniques. For small changes in the spacing of the subwavelength grating elements, lossy propagating resonant modes in the plane of the grating cause a large change in the optical reflection amplitude. An in-plane motion detection sensitivity of 160 fm/square root(Hz) was measured, exceeding that of any other optical microelectromechanical system transducer to our knowledge. Calculations predict that this sensitivity could be improved to better than 40 fm/square root(Hz) in future designs. In addition to having applications in the field of inertial sensors, this device could also be used as an optical modulator.