Bioglass thin films for biomimetic implants

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method was used to obtain bioglass (BG) thin film coatings on titanium substrates. An UV excimer laser KrF* (λ = 248 nm, τ = 25 ns) was used for the multi-pulse irradiation of the BG targets with 57 or 61 wt.% SiO₂ content (and Na₂O-K₂O-CaO-MgO-P₂O₅ oxides). The depositions were performed in oxygen atmosphere at 13 Pa and for substrates temperature of 400 °C. The PLD films displayed typical BG of 2-5 μm particulates nucleated on the film surface or embedded in. The PLD films stoichiometry was found to be the same as the targets. XRD spectra have shown, the glass coatings obtained, had an amorphous structure. One set of samples, deposited in the same conditions, were dipped in simulated body fluids (SBFs) and subsequently extracted one by one after several time intervals 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days. After washing in deionized water and drying, the surface morphology of the samples and theirs composition were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), IR spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). After 3-7 days the Si content substantially decreases in the coatings and PO₄³⁻ maxima start to increase in FTIR spectra. The XRD spectra also confirm this evolution. After 14-21 days the XRD peaks show a crystallized fraction of the carbonated hydroxyapatite (HAP). The SEM micrographs show also significant changes of the films surface morphology. The coalescence of the BG droplets can be seen. The dissolution and growth processes could be assigned to the ionic exchange between BG and SBFs.     

Frequency-selective quantitation of short-echo time 1H magnetic resonance spectra

Accurate and efficient filtering techniques are required to suppress large nuisance components present in short-echo time magnetic resonance (MR) spectra. This paper discusses two powerful filtering techniques used in long-echo time MR spectral quantitation, the maximum-phase FIR filter (MP-FIR) and the Hankel-Lanczos Singular Value Decomposition with Partial ReOrthogonalization (HLSVD-PRO), and shows that they can be applied to their more complex short-echo time spectral counterparts. Both filters are validated and compared through extensive simulations. Their properties are discussed. In particular, the capability of MP-FIR for dealing with macromolecular components is emphasized. Although this property does not make a large difference for long-echo time MR spectra, it can be important when quantifying short-echo time spectra.     

Magnetic characterization of FeCo nanowire arrays by first-order reversal curves

FeCo nanowire arrays have been obtained by current pulse electrodeposition into nanoporous alumina templates. First-order reversal curve (FORC) diagrams have been used to investigate magnetostatic interaction and average coercivity of individual FeCo nanowires embedded in porous alumina templates. The FeCo nanowires with a wires length up to 3 μm and wires diameter ranging from 25 to 50 nm showed interacting single-domain behavior. Using FORC diagrams, the spread of coercivity distribution was seen to be almost independent of the wires diameter, but with increase in diameter the inter-wire magnetostatic interaction was increased. It was found that for arrays with higher diameter, the coercivity of the arrays is lower than the average coercivity of the individual wires. It was detected that an increase in wire diameter results in a considerable increase in the spread of the distribution in the H_u direction of FORC distribution. Curve fitting on the experimental data proved a relatively linear relation between interaction field and square diameter of the nanowires.     

New high-pressures vapor-liquid equilibrium data for the carbon dioxide + 2-methyl-2-propanol binary system

New vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) data at 323.15, 333.15, 343.15, and 353.15 K and pressures up to 112.9 bar are reported for the carbon dioxide + 2-methyl-2-propanol system. The experimental method used in this work was a static analytical method with liquid and vapor phases sampling using a rapid online sampler injector (ROLSI?) coupled to a gas chromatograph (GC) for analysis. Measured VLE data and literature data for carbon dioxide + 2-methyl-2-propanol system were modeled with the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) cubic equation of state with classical van der Waals (two-parameter conventional mixing rule, 2PCMR) mixing rules. A single set of interaction parameters that lead to a correct phase behavior was used in this work to model the new VLE data and critical points of the mixtures in a wide range of temperature and pressure. The SRK prediction results were compared to the new data measured in this study and to available literature data.

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Hydrogallierungsreaktionen mit den Monoalkinen H5C6‐C≡C‐SiMe3 und H5C6‐C≡C‐CMe3 – cis/trans‐Isomerie und Substituentenaustausch

Hydrogallation Reactions Involving the Monoalkynes H₅C₆‐C≡C‐SiMe₃ and H₅C₆‐C≡C‐CMe₃ – cis/trans Isomerisation and Substituent Exchange Phenyl‐trimethylsilylethyne, H₅C₆‐C≡C‐SiMe₃, reacted with different dialkylgallium hydrides, R₂Ga‐H (R = Me, Et, nPr, iPr, tBu), by the addition of one Ga‐H bond to its C≡C triple bond (hydrogallation). The gallium atoms attacked selectively those carbon atoms, which were also attached to trimethylsilyl groups. The cis arrangement of Ga and H across the resulting C=C double bonds resulted only for the sterically most shielded di(tert‐butyl)gallium derivative, while in all other cases spontaneous cis/trans rearrangement occurred with the quantitative formation of the trans addition products. The diethyl compound Et₂Ga‐C(SiMe₃)=C(H)‐C₆H₅ ( 2 ) gave by substituent exchange the secondary products EtGa[C(SiMe₃)=C(H)‐C₆H₅]₂ ( 7 , Z,Z) and Ga[C(SiMe₃)=C(H)‐C₆H₅]₃ ( 8 ). Interestingly, compound 8 has two alkenyl groups with a Z configuration, while the third C=C double bond has the cis arrangement of Ga and H (E configuration). The reversibility of the cis/trans isomerisation of hydrogallation products was observed for the first time. tert‐Butyl‐phenylethyne gave the simple addition product, R₂Ga(C₆H₅)=C(H)‐CMe₃ ( 9 ), only with di(n‐propyl)gallium hydride.     

SINGLET-OXYGEN GENERATION AT GAS-LIQUID INTERFACES: A SIGNIFICANT ARTIFACT IN THE MEASUREMENT OF SINGLET-OXYGEN YIELDS FROM OZONE-BIOMOLECULE REACTIONS

Abstract— Several ozone-biomolecule reactions have previously been shown to generate singlet oxygen in high yields. For some of these orone-biomolecule reactions, we now show that the apparent singlet-oxygen yields determined from measurements of 1270 nm chemiluminescence were artifactually elevated by production of gas-phase singlet oxygen. The gas-phase singlet oxygen results from the reaction of gas-phase ozone with biomolecules near the surface of the solution. Through the use of a flow system that excludes air from the reaction chamber, accurate singlet-oxygen yields can be obtained. The revised singlet-oxygen yields (mol ¹O₂ per mol O₃) for the reactions of ozone with cysteine, reduced glutathione, NADH, NADPH, human albumin, methionine, uric acid and oxidized glutathione are 0.23 ± 0.02, 0.26 ± 0.02, 0.48 ± 0.04, 0.41 ± 0.01, 0.53 ± 0.06, 1.11 ± 0.04, 0.73 ± 0.05 and 0.75 ± 0.01, respectively. These revised singlet-oxygen yields are still substantial.     

Sol–gel template synthesis of luminescent glass–ceramic rods

We report an original way to prepare luminescent glass–ceramic microrods containing Eu³⁺ doped BaF₂ nanocrystals by sol–gel chemistry within the pores of a polycarbonate template membrane. Structural characterization by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction has shown the formation of glass–ceramic microrods with 0.8-m diameter of and 10 μm length in which BaF₂ nanocrystals of about 30 nm size are embedded. Photoluminescence measurements have indicated the incorporation of Eu³⁺ ions inside the BaF₂ nanocrystals in a broad range of sites with low coordination symmetry. The comparison made with the bulk glass–ceramic indicated an influence of the dimensional constraints imposed by the membrane pores during xerogel formation and subsequent glass ceramization.     

Monte Carlo simulation of radon SSNT detectors

A Monte Carlo based software for the computation of the sensitivity of etched radon track detectors was developed. It can be applied to the measurement of radon and radon daughters in free air or inside of a measurement chamber. LR 115 and CR-39 detectors, with or without an attenuator, are specifically addressed. Various etching conditions and observation criteria for counting the track density may be specified. The latent track formation and the etching process are realistically modelled. The dependence of the etch-rate ratio on the energy is taken into account. The plate-out phenomenon is included in the model. An inhomogeneous source distribution in the detector cup can be considered.     

Nonproteolytic cleavage of aspartyl proline bonds in the cellulosomal scaffoldin subunit from Clostridium thermocellum

Previous work from our group [Morag (Morgenstern), E., Bayer, E. A., and Lamed, R. (1991), Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 30, 129–136] has demonstrated an anomalous electrophoretic mobility pattern for scaffoldin, the 210-kDa cellulosome-integrating subunit of Clostridium thermocellum. Subsequent evidence [Morag, E., Bayer, E. A., and Lamed, R. (1992), Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 33, 205–217] indicated that the effect could be attributed to a nonproteolytic fragmentation of the subunit into a defined series of lowermolecular-weight bands. In the present work, a recombinant segment of the scaffoldin subunit was employed to determine the site(s) of bond breakage. An Asp-Pro sequence within the cohesin domain was identified to be the sensitive peptide bond. This sequence appears quite frequently in the large cellulosomal proteins, and the labile bond may be related to an as yet undescribed physiological role in the hydrolysis of cellulose by cellulosomes.