Separation of different valency states of iron,arsenic, antimony,mercury, tin and chromium by thin-layer chromatography

Summary Different valency states of iron, mercury, tin, arsenic, antimony and chromium were separated by the thin-layer chromatography on starch and cellulose, using nine different solvent systems.     

Validation of optimal DCE-MRI perfusion threshold to classify at-risk tumor imaging voxels in heterogeneous cervical cancer for outcome prediction

Purpose

To classify tumor imaging voxels at-risk for treatment failure within the heterogeneous cervical cancer using DCE MRI and determine optimal voxel's DCE threshold values at different treatment time points for early prediction of treatment failure.

Material and Method

DCE-MRI from 102 patients with stage IB2–IVB cervical cancer was obtained at 3 different treatment time points: before (MRI 1) and during treatment (MRI 2 at 2–2.5 weeks and MRI 3 at 4–5 weeks). For each tumor voxel, the plateau signal intensity (SI) was derived from its time-SI curve from the DCE MRI. The optimal SI thresholds to classify the at-risk tumor voxels was determined by the maximal area under the curve using ROC analysis when varies SI value from 1.0 to 3.0 and correlates with treatment outcome.

Results

The optimal SI thresholds for MRI 1, 2 and 3 were 2.2, 2.2 and 2.1 for significant differentiation between local recurrence/control, respectively, and 1.8, 2.1 and 2.2 for death/survival, respectively.

Conclusion

Optimal SI thresholds are clinically validated to quantify at-risk tumor voxels which vary with time. A single universal threshold (SI = 1.9) was identified for all 3 treatment time points and remained significant for the early prediction of treatment failure.     

淀粉基炭负载纳米铜催化合成碳酸二甲酯

以硝酸铜和可溶性淀粉为原料, 经过溶胶-凝胶化过程、高温炭化和KOH活化得到炭负载铜催化剂(Cu/C), 采用扫描电镜、透射电镜、X射线衍射、热重-差热分析仪、N₂吸附和CO程序升温脱附对催化剂结构进行了表征, 并考察了它在甲醇氧化羰基化合成碳酸二甲酯(DMC)反应中的催化活性. 结果表明, 活化温度和KOH用量对催化剂的表面结构及金属铜粒子尺寸影响显著, 当活化温度为850℃, KOH:C=1 (质量比)时, Cu/C催化剂的比表面积达到1690 m²/g, 铜纳米粒子平均晶粒尺寸为30.4 nm, 催化活性最高, DMC时空收率达到235.7 mg·g^-1·h^-1, 甲醇转化率和DMC选择性分别为1.6%和76.5%.     

Influence of Amylose-Amylopectin Ratio on Properties of Extruded Starch Plastic Sheets

Abstract

Starch plastic sheets were prepared by extrusion processing of mixtures of granular high-amylopectin and high-amylose starches in the presence of glycerol and water as plasticizers. Amylose content varied between 0 and 70% (w/w). Structural characterization and determination of the mechanical properties of the sheets were performed after aging the materials between 40–65% relative humidity for 2 and 35 weeks and at 90% relative humidity for two weeks. The materials were semicrystalline and viscoelastic. The materials were described as complex heterogeneous multiphase materials. They consisted of amorphous and crystalline phases of amylose and amylopectin as well as granular structures and domains of amylose, amylopectin and amylose-amylopectin helices. Single-helical type crystallinity was formed solely by amylose directly after processing while B-type crystallinity was rapidly formed in amylose-rich materials and slowly during aging of amylopectin-rich materials.

The stress-strain and stress-relaxation properties were related to differences in amylose content, degree of crystallization and water content. The amorphous amylopectin rich materials were flexible and soft but showed an increase in stiffness and a decrease in elongation due to crystallization. Amylopectin-rich materials showed unfavorable relaxation, shrinkage and cracking during aging. The materials rich in amylopectin were sensitive to water content while the amylose-rich materials were not sensitive to water in the range of 9–13% (w/w). Stress-strain relaxation behaviors of the materials were dependent on starch structure and on experimental conditions such as strain rate and extension by which the ratio of elastic and viscous response were varied. An increase in relaxation times was found with increasing amylose content and water content for the materials with solely amylose crystallinity.     

Properties of Starch Blends with Biodegradable Polymers

Abstract

Starch, one of the most inexpensive and most readily available of all natural polymers, can be processed into thermoplastic materials only in the presence of plasticizers and under the action of heat and shear. Poor water resistance and low strength are limiting factors for the use of materials manufactured only from starch, and hence the modification of starch is often achieved by blending aliphatic polyesters. In this review, the literatures concerning the properties of various blends of starch and aliphatic polyesters have been summarized. The biodegradable rates of blends can be controlled to a certain extent depending on the constitutions of blends, and the mechanical properties of blends are close to those of traditional plastics such as polyethylene and polystyrene. The reduction of their sensitivity to humidity makes these materials suitable for the production of biodegradable films, injection-molded items, and foams.     

以淀粉溶液为催化剂锅三组分法合成四氢苯并[b]吡喃和3,4-二氢吡喃并[c]苯并吡喃衍生物简

Tetrahydrobenzo[b]pyran and 3,4-dihydropyrano[c]chromene derivatives were synthesized via a one-pot three-component condensation of aromatic aldehydes with malononitrile and dimedone or 4-hydroxycoumarin in excellent yields in the presence of starch solution as a highly efficient homogenous catalyst. The use of a nontoxic and biodegradable catalyst, simple work-up procedure, and short reaction time are advantages of this method.     

Morphology and Phase Composition ofGelatin-Starch Blends简

Morphology and phase compositions of different starch-gelatin blends were investigated by various microscopes: optical, SEM and synchrotron FTIR microscopy. A high amylose(80%) corn starch, grafted with hydroxypropyl to enhance flexibilty and hydrophilicity, and plasticized by poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG), was used in this work. SEM revealed that the surface became smoother after adding PEG. Optical microscopy observation revealed that compatibility between gelatin and starch was improved by adding PEG. An FTIR beam focused on a 5 μm× 5 μm detection area by the micro-spectroscope was used to map chemical composition. The ratio of areas of the saccharide bands(1180–953 cm 1) and the amide I and II bands(1750–1483 cm 1) was used to monitor the relative distributions of the two components in the blends. The FTIR maps indicated that gelatin constituted the continuous phase up to 80% of starch content. All of the FTIR spectra showed contributions from both starch and gelatin absorptions, therefore indicating that complete demixing with pure starch and gelatin domains did not occur. The PEG improved the compatibility of the gelatin-starch blends.     

Ultrasonic investigation on aqueous polysaccharide (starch) at 298.15 K

The ultrasonic velocity, density and viscosity at 298.15 K have been measured in the binary system of starch in aqueous medium. The acoustical parameters such as adiabatic compressibility (β), free length (L_f), free volume (V_f), internal pressure (π_i), acoustical impedance (Z), relative association (R_A), Rao’s constant (R), Wada’s constant (W), classical absorption coefficients (α/f²), relaxation time (τ) and relaxation strength (r) are calculated. The results are interpreted in terms of molecular interaction between the components of the mixtures.     

A dynamic U-tube rheometer of novel design for the study of weak gels and foams

A novel rheometer based on the U-tube technique of Saunders and Ward has been developed to determine the shear moduli of very weak gels and foams. The instrument is fully automatic and operates in both static and oscillatory modes. The change of the shear modulus, with the time, was monitored in three series of samples to illustrate the performance of the instrument. The first series comprised gelatinized maize starch aqueous suspensions ranging in starch concentration from 6% to 12%. The second was a series of gelatine aqueous solutions ranging in gelatine content from 2% to 12%. The third was two commercial samples of shaving foam. The results indicated that the instrument is particularly suitable for the study of the gelation mechanism in very weak gels as well as for the study of the stability of foams in relation to time.     

Interfacial phenomena in starch/fumed silica at varied hydration levels

Hydrated powders of non-gelatinised starch and hydrogels of gelatinised starch alone or with addition of modified nanosilica (with grafted aminopropylmethylsilyl groups substituting one-third of surface silanols) were studied using broadband dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS), thermally stimulated depolarisation current (TSDC) method and ¹H NMR spectroscopy with layer-by-layer freezing-out of bulk and interfacial waters. The ¹H NMR and TSDC techniques with the use of Gibbs–Thomson relation for the freezing point depression allow us to calculate: (i) the thermodynamic parameters of interfacial water weakly and strongly bound to polymer molecules and nanoparticles; (ii) size distributions of pores filled by structured water; (iii) surface area and volume of micro-, meso- and macropores. The DRS and TSDC results for hydrogels and hydrated powders with starch/modified fumed silica show that the β- and γ-relaxations of starch are strongly affected by water and functionalised silica nanoparticles which slow down both low- and high-frequency and low- and high-temperature relaxations.