Synthesis, properties, and X-ray structure of [Cu(dpa)Cl2] (dpa = di-(2-picolyl)amine)

The mono(dpa)copper(II) complex [Cu(dpa)Cl₂] (1) (dpa = di-(2-picolyl)amine) has been synthesized and structurally characterized. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system P2₁/n with a = 8.155(1), b = 12.560(1), c = 12.817(2) Å, = 91.64(2)°, V = 1312.3(2) ų, Z = 4. The copper atom is coordinated by three nitrogen atoms from the dpa ligand and two chlorides in a distorted square-pyramidal environment. Cyclic voltammetric data show that 1 undergoes the reversible one-electron oxidation to the Cu(III) and the reversible one-electron reduction to the Cu(I) state.     

Color-image generation by use of binary-phase holograms

A novel, simple scheme for producing full-color images by use of binary-phase holograms and red (632.8-nm), green (543.5-nm), and blue (488-nm), lasers is reported. The theory and experimental results of the system are also presented.     

Conversion of Sago (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Metroxylon sagu</Emphasis>) Pith Waste to Fermentable Sugars via a Facile Depolymerization Process

The conversion of starchy sago (Metroxylon sagu) pith waste (SPW), a lignocellulosic biomass waste, to fermentable sugars under mild conditions had been successfully demonstrated. The optimum depolymerization of SPW was achieved at 2 wt% sample loading which was catalyzed by 100 mM of oxalic acid in the presence of 25 wt% NaCl solution at 110 °C for 3 h. Up to 97% SPW sample was being converted into fermentable sugars with limited formation of by-products after two sequential depolymerization cycles. Both reaction temperature and concentration of oxalic acid were crucial parameters for the depolymerization of SPW which exhibited a high selectivity for the production of glucose over other reducing sugars.     

Constituent analysis of metal and metal oxide in reduced SIMFuel using bromine-ethyl acetate

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - We demonstrated that bromine in ethyl acetate can selectively separate metallic contents in lanthanide metal-oxide mixtures for analysis, which...     

Feasibility of fat-saturated T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging with slice encoding for metal artifact correction (SEMAC) at 3T

Background and Purpose

Fluid-sensitive MR imaging in postoperative evaluation is important, however, metallic artifacts is inevitable. The purpose is to investigate the feasibility of fat-saturated slice encoding for metal artifact correction (SEMAC)-corrected T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) at 3T in patients with spinal prostheses.

Methods

Following institutional review board approval, 27 SEMAC-encoded spinal MRs between September 2012 and October 2013 in patients with spinal metallic prostheses were analyzed. The MR images were scanned on a 3T MR system including SEMAC-corrected and uncorrected fast spin echo (FSE) T2-weighted MR images with fat-saturation. Two musculoskeletal radiologists compared the image sets and qualitatively analyzed the images using a five-point scale in terms of artifact reduction around the prosthesis, visualization of the prosthesis and pedicle, and intervertebral neural foramina. Quantitative assessments were performed by calculating the ratio of signal intensity from the fixated vertebra and that from upper level vertebra. For statistical analyses, paired t-test was used.

Results

Fat-saturated SEMAC-corrected T2-weighted MR images enabled significantly improved metallic artifact reduction (P < 0.05). Quantitative evaluation of the signal intensity ratio of screw-fixated vertebra and upper level vertebra showed a significantly lower ratio on fat-saturated SEMAC images (P < 0.05), however, the high signal intensity of signal pile-up could be not completely corrected.

Conclusion

SEMAC correction in fat-suppressed T2-weighted MR images can overcome the signal loss of metallic artifacts and provide improved delineation of the pedicle screw and peri-prosthetic region. Signal pile-up, however, could not be corrected completely, therefore readers should be cautious in the evaluation of marrow around the prosthesis.     

Repeated-Binge Ethanol Intoxication Leads to Lower Choline-Containing Compound Signals in Adult Rats: An In Vivo Marker of Ethanol-Induced Neurochemical Abnormalities

Ethanol is the most commonly abused intoxicating substance among young and middle-aged adults, and ranks highly as a cause of disability and mortality. A pattern of heavy consumption, called binge drinking, leads to various psychiatric disorders. However, to the best of our knowledge, assessments of the influence of short-term binge ethanol (SBE) intoxication on cerebral metabolite changes in human and rat models are scarce. We used in vivo ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) to quantitatively assess neurochemical responses in hippocampus in a rat model of SBE intoxication. Seven SBE-exposed rats received an initial dose of 5.0-g/kg ethanol (30 %-w/v solution) through gavage and additional doses of 2.0-g/kg ethanol (25 %-w/v solution), every 8 hour for 4 days. Six rats in sham control group (CNTL) received an equivalent volume of distilled water at comparable times. Sixty minutes after last gavage session, in vivo ¹H-MRS scans were obtained from all rats using a 4.7 Tesla animal scanner. For neurochemical analysis, a single voxel was positioned in the hippocampal region and spectra were fitted for the quantification of 17 cerebral neurochemical signals. In hippocampus, the concentration of total choline-containing compound signals (tCho: [glycerophosphocholine] + [phosphocholine]) was significantly lower in SBE-exposed rats than in CNTL rats. Moreover, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)/total creatine (tCr: creatine + phosphocreatine), tCho/tCr, and tCho/total N-acetyl-aspartate (tNAA: N-acetyl-aspartate + N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate) ratios were significantly lower in SBE-exposed rats than CNTL rats. We determined that tCho, GABA, and tNAA signals were highly sensitive to short-term binge ethanol intoxication, which provides insights into neurochemical alterations associated with ethanol abuse.     

Coarsening Nature of Liquid-Ordered Domain in Model Membrane

We present the coarsening dynamics of a liquid-ordered (Lo) domain in a supported lipid membrane under an electric field. In a relatively small nanosmooth region surrounded by geometrical walls of nanocorrugated regions, full coarsening of the Lo domain was produced while in a large nanosmooth region, an intermediate, less-ordered Lo domain was developed so that the diffusion of charged phospholipids in the liquid-disordered (Ld) domain was allowed across the geometrical walls in the presence of an electric field. No appreciable diffusion of the charged lipids into a fully coarsened Lo domain by the electric field implies that the structural ordering of the membrane components plays a significant role on the formation of lipid rafts for biological processes.     

Trap-state-assisted white light emission from a CdSe nanocrystal integrated hybrid light-emitting diode

This Letter reports on the fabrication of hybrid white-light-emitting diodes made of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) integrated on InGaN/GaN LEDs. Using core type and core/shell type CdSe NCs, the white light properties are systematically engineered for white light generation with high color rendering index (CRI). Unlike CdSe/ZnS core/shell NCs, which exhibited a unique narrowband edge emission, core type CdSe NCs offered extended broad emission toward orange/red wavelengths associated with deep trap states. Consequently, the light-emitting properties of the devices showed strong dependence on the type of NCs used, and devices with CdSe NCs offered admirable characteristics, such as Commission Internationale d'Eclairage coordinates of (0.356, 0.330) and a CRI as high as 87.4.