Polymer adsorption on the surface of highly dispersed silica

Attempts at modification of silica surface with a polymer (natural latex) directly in the course of the precipitation process have been made. The effects of temperature, non-ionic surfactants and silane coupling agent in preparation of poly[cis-isoprene]-coated silica on the precipitation of polymer/silica composites initiated by ammonium salts (NH₄Cl, (NH₄)₂SO₄, NH₄HCO₃), have been studied. The influence of the process parameters on the quality of the silicas obtained and the character of the polymer adsorption on the silica surface has been determined along with the effect of the surface impregnation with natural latex on physicochemical parameters of the silicas (bulk density, capacities to absorb water, dibutyl phthalate and paraffin oil) and their surface structure.     

First application of CE-ICP-MS for monitoring the formation of cisplatin targeting delivery systems with gold nanocarriers

Cisplatin is a drug frequently used in chemotherapy of various types of tumors due to its strong cytostatic activity against cancer cells. However, this therapy is not free from severe side effects related to the nonselective action of the drug. The solution to this problem could be the application of drug-targeted delivery systems (DTDSs). Gold nanoparticles can be used in such systems as selective drug carriers, ensuring its transportation through the bloodstream to destination tissue. The method of DTDSs analysis providing qualitative and quantitative information about the formation of this conjugation is crucial to establish the kinetics of reaction and stoichiometry of reagents, which ensures the best drug binding rate. Moreover, the status of so far proposed techniques/methods dedicated to elaborating the course of DTDSs formation is preliminary and in majority guarantee only the confirmation of drug‒carrier conjugate formation. In this paper, we demonstrate the procedures of reagents’ preparation and cisplatin‒gold nanoparticles DTDS formation, which have a significant influence on the rate and stoichiometry of the reaction. We also present the novel application of CE-ICP-MS hyphenation for effective separation and online monitoring of all components of the reaction mixture.     

Partitioning of Selected Anisole and Veratrole Derivatives between Water and Anionic Surfactant Micelles

The UV absorption spectra of six structurally related derivatives of anisole and veratrole, i.e., anisaldehyde, (E)-anethole, estragole, veratraldehyde, methyleugenol and (E)-methylisoeugenol, were recorded at various concentrations of the anionic surfactants, either sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) at T = 298 K. In addition, conductivity and density measurements were made for the SLS and SLES solutions to determine the volumetric properties of the studied surfactants. Next, using the W. Al-Soufi, L. Pińeiro and M. Novo model (APN model) including the pseudo-phase model for micellar solubilization, the values of micelle-water partition coefficients for each perfume-surfactant system were determined. In addition, the relations between the molecular structures of the solute and the head group of the surfactant and the value of the micelle-water partition coefficient as well as the octanol-water one were discussed.     

The Quenched Asymptotics for Nonlocal Schrödinger Operators with Poissonian Potentials

Potential Analysis - We study the quenched long time behaviour of the survival probability up to time t, $mathbf {E}_{x}left [e^{-{{int }_{0}^{t}} V^{omega }(X_{s})mathrm {d}s}right ],$ of a...     

A High Cell‐Bearing Capacity Multibore Hollow Fiber Device for Macroencapsulation of Islets of Langerhans

Macroencapsulation of islets of Langerhans is a promising strategy for transplantation of insulin‐producing cells in the absence of immunosuppression to treat type 1 diabetes. Hollow fiber membranes are of interest there because they offer a large surface‐to‐volume ratio and can potentially be retrieved or refilled. However, current available fibers have limitations in exchange of nutrients, oxygen, and delivery of insulin potentially impacting graft survival. Here, multibore hollow fibers for islets encapsulation are designed and tested. They consist of seven bores and are prepared using nondegradable polymers with high mechanical stability and low cell adhesion properties. Human islets encapsulated there have a glucose induced insulin response (GIIS) similar to nonencapsulated islets. During 7 d of cell culture in vitro, the GIIS increases with graded doses of islets demonstrating the suitability of the microenvironment for islet survival. Moreover, first implantation studies in mice demonstrate device material biocompatibility with minimal tissue responses. Besides, formation of new blood vessels close to the implanted device is observed, an important requirement for maintaining islet viability and fast exchange of glucose and insulin. The results indicate that the developed fibers have high islet bearing capacity and can potentially be applied for a clinically applicable bioartificial pancreas.     

Kinetics and Characterization of Degradation Products of Dihydralazine and Hydrochlorothiazide in Binary Mixture by HPLC-UV,LC-DAD and LC–MS Methods

Dihydralazine and hydrochlorothiazide were stored at high temperature and humidity, under UV/Vis light and different pH, as individual drugs and the mixture. Then, a sensitive and selective HPLC-UV method was developed for simultaneous determination of dihydralazine and hydrochlorothiazide in presence of their degradation products. Finally, the degradation products were characterized through LC-DAD and LC–MS methods. Dihydralazine was sensitive to high temperature and humidity, UV/Vis light and pH?≥?7. At the same time, it was resistant to acidic conditions. Hydrochlorothiazide was sensitive to high temperature and humidity, UV/Vis light and changes in pH. Its highest level of degradation was observed in 1 M HCl. Degradation of the drugs was higher when they were stressed in the mixture. In the case of dihydralazine, the percentage degradation was 5–15 times higher. What is more, dihydralazine became sensitive to acidic conditions. Hydrochlorothiazide was shown to be more sensitive to UV/Vis light and pH?>?4. Degradation of dihydralazine and hydrochlorothiazide followed first-order kinetics. The quickest degradation of dihydralazine was found to be in 1 M NaOH while of hydrochlorothiazide was in 1 M HCl (individual hydrochlorothiazide) or at pH 7–10 (hydrochlorothiazide in the mixture). A number of new degradation products were detected and some of them were identified by our LC-DAD and LC–MS methods. In the stressed individual samples, (phenylmethyl)hydrazine and 1,2,4-benzothiadiazine-7-sulfonamide 1,1-dioxide were observed for the first time. Interactions between dihydralazine and hydrochlorothiazide in the mixture were confirmed by additional degradation products, e.g., 2H-1,2,4-benzothiadiazine-7-sulfonamide 1,1,4-trioxide.     

Bounds on global secure sets in cactus trees

Let G = (V, E) be a graph. A global secure set SD ⊆ V is a dominating set which satisfies the condition: for all X ⊆ SD, |N[X] ∩ SD| ≥ | N[X] − SD|. A global defensive alliance is a set of vertices A that is dominating and satisfies a weakened condition: for all x ∈ A, |N[x] ∩ A| ≥ |N[x] − A|. We give an upper bound on the cardinality of minimum global secure sets in cactus trees. We also present some results for trees, and we relate them to the known bounds on the minimum cardinality of global defensive alliances.     

Fluorescence and Time-Resolved Delayed Luminescence of Porphyrins in Organic Solvents and Polymer Matrices

Porphyrin dyes fulfill an essential function in photosynthesis and are important in photodynamic therapy and in a range of electronic devices. Their spectroscopic characteristics may play a crucial role in these processes. The spectral properties of two porphyrin dyes: tetraphenylporphyrin and tetraphenysulfporphyrin in organic solvents (acetone, chloroform, methyl alcohol, and dimethyl-sulfoxide) and in polyvinyl alcohol and poly(methylmethacrylate) films have been investigated. Absorption, fluorescence, and microsecond time-resolved delayed luminescence spectra have been measured at room temperature. The existence of different aggregated dye forms in the ground and excited states has been demonstrated. The manifold of dye species depends on the solvent/polymer. In the case of the polymers, it also depends on the solvent used to coat the polymer film. Delayed luminescence spectra and decay times of the two porphyrins in the different solutions and in polymeric matrices suggest that different mechanisms of deexcitation of the singlet excited states may be responsible for their generation in these and other porphyrin dyes.     

Consensus,Polarization and Hysteresis in the Three-State Noisy q-Voter Model with Bounded Confidence

In this work, we address the question of the role of the influence of group size on the emergence of various collective social phenomena, such as consensus, polarization and social hysteresis. To answer this question, we study the three-state noisy q-voter model with bounded confidence, in which agents can be in one of three states: two extremes (leftist and rightist) and centrist. We study the model on a complete graph within the mean-field approach and show that, depending on the size q of the influence group, saddle-node bifurcation cascades of different length appear and different collective phenomena are possible. In particular, for all values of q>1, social hysteresis is observed. Furthermore, for small values of q∈(1,4), disagreement, polarization and domination of centrists (a consensus understood as the general agreement, not unanimity) can be achieved but not the domination of extremists. The latter is possible only for larger groups of influence. Finally, by comparing our model to others, we discuss how a small change in the rules at the microscopic level can dramatically change the macroscopic behavior of the model.     

Quantum Gravity from the Point of View of Locally Covariant Quantum Field Theory

We construct perturbative quantum gravity in a generally covariant way. In particular our construction is background independent. It is based on the locally covariant approach to quantum field theory and the renormalized Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism. We do not touch the problem of nonrenormalizability and interpret the theory as an effective theory at large length scales.