Synthesis of core–shell magnetic ion-imprinted polymer nanospheres for selective solid-phase extraction of Pb2+ from biological,food, and wastewater samples

Magnetic ion-imprinted polymer nanospheres, which have core–shell structures, have been synthesized as an adsorbent for extraction of Pb²⁺ from real samples prior to its flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination. The prepared adsorbent has been characterized using XRD, VSM, TEM, and FTIR measurements. The optimization results revealed that the adsorbent exhibited high selectivity toward Pb²⁺ over other cations such as Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺. In addition, the removal efficiency of synthesized adsorbent was considerable (q_m?=?171.42?mg g^?1), its calibration curve was linear (0.5?850.0?ng mL^?1), and detection limit was 0.01?ng mL^?1. These results suggested that the prepared nanoadsorbent is an ideal candidate for solid-phase extraction of Pb²⁺ ions.     

IR-MALDESI Mass Spectrometry Imaging at 50 Micron Spatial Resolution

High spatial resolution in mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is crucial to understanding the biology dictated by molecular distributions in complex tissue systems. Here, we present MSI using infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization (IR-MALDESI) at 50 μm resolution. An adjustable iris, beam expander, and an aspherical focusing lens were used to reduce tissue ablation diameters for MSI at high resolution. The laser beam caustic was modeled using laser ablation paper to calculate relevant laser beam characteristics. The minimum laser spot diameter on the tissue was determined using tissue staining and microscopy. Finally, the newly constructed optical system was used to image hen ovarian tissue with and without oversampling, detailing tissue features at 50 μm resolution.

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Stability and Rheological Properties of Model Low-Fat Salad Dressing Stabilized by Salep

A model low-fat salad dressing including salep as thickening agent was prepared. In order to obtain an stable salad dressing, different variables each one at three levels like salep content (0.5, 2.0, and 3.5% w/w), oil volume fraction (7.50, 16.25, and 25.00% w/w), pH (3, 5, and 7), salt concentration (0.3, 0.9, and 1.5% w/w), and egg yolk content (2, 4, and 6% w/w) were chosen and their effect on the creaming index of salad dressing was studied. It was observed that samples with highest salep content at pH 3 were the most stable during storage time (15 days). The microstructure of some samples was considered. Rheological measurements were performed for stable samples. Oil fraction and salt content increased zero shear viscosity and G′ modulus of samples.      

Biocompatibility and hyperthermia cancer therapy of casein‐coated iron oxide nanoparticles in mice

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) can be used as heat generation source in cancer hyperthermia therapy. While iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are the most popular choice for magnetic hyperthermia, adding a surface enhancement can improve its performance. Furthermore, for MNPs to be used in biomedical application their cytotoxicity needs to be evaluated. In this study biocompatibility and also in vivo performance of casein‐coated MNPs were assessed. Cell viability of normal cell lines in all of tests remained above 95% for 0.5 and 1 mg/mL concentration and even the minimum recorded cell viability for normal cell lines was 84.78% at 20 mg/mL concentration. In contrast cell viability of cancer cell lines in contact with casein coated MNPs core‐shell structure except for one sample remained below 85%. By introduction of and alternating magnetic field, cell viability of samples with lower MNP concentration dropped by 20% to 30% while this drop for samples with higher concentration was 10% to 20%. Furthermore, results of in vivo trials show that just 1 week of hyperthermia treatment with casein coated MNPs core‐shell structure can reduce the tumor size of the mice by 33%. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction results further confirmed the effectiveness of this method. Moreover, findings of this study suggest that lower injection speed can improve NPs distribution and treatment effect. Results of this study suggest that core‐shell structure can positively affect the tumor growth and the combination of good biocompatibility, innate hostility toward cancer cells and good heating power makes them a good candidate for hyperthermia cancer therapy applications.     

Pure and binary adsorption isotherms of ethylene and ethane on zeolite 5A

Pure and binary adsorption equilibrium data of ethylene and ethane on zeolite 5A were collected with a volumetric method for the temperature range 283 K to 323 K and pressure up to 950 kPa. The applicability of the binary adsorption prediction by the vacancy solution theory (VST) was investigated. Further individual adsorption and selectivity were obtained by VST prediction. According to the experimental results, zeolite 5A has a high adsorption capacity and selectivity for ethylene in the ethylene/ethane system. VST predicts that ethylene selectivity increases with pressure; it also shows that the amount of ethylene separated by zeolite 5A increases as the temperature decreases at a specified pressure.     

Cyclotron production of <Superscript>169</Superscript>Yb: a potential radiolanthanide for brachytherapy

In the present study, ytterbium-169 was produced via the ¹⁶⁹Tm(p, n)¹⁶⁹Yb nuclear process at the AMIRS (Cyclone-30, IBA, Belgium) cyclotron, irradiating Tm₂O₃ with proton particles of 15 MeV primary energy and 20 μA current for 20 min. Deposition of Tm₂O₃ on Cu substrate was carried out via by the sedimentation method. The 543 mg of thulium(III)oxide with 108 mg of ethyl cellulose and 8 mL of acetone were used to prepare a Tm₂O₃ layer of 11.69 cm². Yields of about 0.643 MBq ¹⁶⁹Yb per μAh were experimentally obtained. ¹⁶⁹Yb was separated in 80 ± 5% radiochemical yield using liquid–liquid extraction. Solvent extraction of no-carrier-added ¹⁶⁹Yb from irradiated thulium(III)oxide target hydrochloric solution was investigated using di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP).     

Production of <Superscript>122</Superscript>Sb for the study of environmental pollution

This article presents, ¹²²Sb (T _1/2 = 2.723 days, I _β- = 97.59%) was produced via the ^natSn(p,xn) nuclear process at the AMIRS (Cyclone-30, IBA, Belgium). The electrodeposition experiments were carried out by potassium stannate trihydrate (K₂Sn(OH)₆) and potassium hydroxide. The optimum conditions of the electrodeposition of tin were as follows: 40 g/L ^natSn, 20 g/L KOH, 115 g/L K₂Sn(OH)₆, DC current density of 5 A/dm² with a bath temperature of 75 °C. The electroplated Tin-target was irradiated with 26.5 MeV protons at current of 180 μA for 20 min. Solvent extraction of no-carrier-added ¹²²Sb from irradiated Tin-natural target hydrochloric solution was investigated using di-n-butyl ether (C₈H₁₈O). Yields of about 3.61 MBq/μAh were experimentally obtained.     

A Validated Real Function Calculus

We present a framework for validated numerical computations with real functions. The framework is based on a formalisation of abstract data types for basic floating-point arithmetic, interval arithmetic and function models based on Banach algebra. As a concrete instantiation, we develop an elementary smooth function calculus approximated by sparse polynomial models. We demonstrate formal verification applied to validated calculus by a formalisation of basic arithmetic operations in a theorem prover. The ultimate aim is to develop a formalism powerful enough for reachability analysis of nonlinear hybrid systems.     

Analysis of a developed Brayton cycled CHP system using ORC and CAES based on first and second law of thermodynamics

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In recent years, studying on energy production processes has been more popular by the sharp increasing trend of energy consumption and loss. One of the...