A volatolomic approach using cerumen as biofluid to diagnose bovine intoxication by Stryphnodendron rotundifolium

An innovative volatolomic approach employs the detection of biomarkers present in cerumen (earwax) to identify cattle intoxication by Stryphnodendron rotundifolium Mart., Fabaceae (popularly known as barbatimão). S. rotundifolium is a poisonous plant with the toxic compound undefined and widely distributed throughout the Brazilian territory. Cerumen samples from cattle of two local Brazilian breeds (‘Curraleiro Pé-Duro’ and ‘Pantaneiro’) were collected during an experimental intoxication protocol and analyzed using headspace (HS)/GC–MS followed by multivariate analysis (genetic algorithm for a partial least squares, cluster analysis, and classification and regression trees). A total of 106 volatile organic metabolites were identified in the cerumen samples of bovines. The intoxication by S. rotundifolium influenced the cerumen volatolomic profile of the bovines throughout the intoxication protocol. In this way, it was possible to detect biomarkers for cattle intoxication. Among the biomarkers, 2-octyldecanol and 9-tetradecen-1-ol were able to discriminate all samples between intoxicated and nonintoxicated bovines. The cattle intoxication diagnosis by S. rotundifolium was accomplished by applying the cerumen analysis using HS/GC–MS, in an easy, accurate, and noninvasive way. Thus, the proposed bioanalytical chromatography protocol is a useful tool in veterinary applications to determine this kind of intoxication.     

Optimisation of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Systems for Complexation of Naproxen : Beta-Cyclodextrin

Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂)offers several attractive scenarios for thepharmaceutical processing as an alternativeto aqueous and organic solvents. In thiswork naproxen, a widely used non steroidalanti-inflammatory drug with analgesic andanti-inflammatory properties, was chosenas a model drug. Its complexation with cyclodextrinsimproves the rate and extent of dissolutionof the drug, increase its rate of absorption and mayreduce the unpleasant side-effects of the drug.The interest in using this supercritical technologyled us to develop an experimental unit for the useof supercritical CO₂ as a processing medium forthe complexation of naproxen with beta cyclodextrin (CD).     

Serum estradiol measurement by solid-phase chemiluminescence immunoassay and direct radioimmunoassay

Estradiol017β is determined in serum extracts by solid-phase chemiluminescence immunoassay. The results are compared with those obtained from unextracted serum in routine conditions with a commercial radioimmunoassay (r.i.a.) kit. For the chemiluminescence procedure, a purified monoclonal antibody to estradiol-6-carboxymethyloxime/bovine serum albumin and the homologous chemiluminescent marker conjugate estradiol-6-carboxymethyloxime aminobutylethylisoluminol are used. Bound and free ligand are separated by washing and simple centrifugation. Results obtained by the chemiluminescence assay (y) and by r.i.a. (x) on 170 serum specimens from women during ovulation induction showed good correlation (y = 1.01x ? 16 with r = 0.95). The methods are similar in selectivity, detection limit (ca. 10 ng l^?1) and precision (interassay relative standard deviation, 8–13%).     

A Comparative Study of Naproxen – Beta Cyclodextrin Complexes Prepared by Conventional Methods and Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Naproxen is a poorly soluble anti-inflammatorydrug, the solubility of which canbe enhanced by complexation withbeta-cyclodextrin. Besides that, the inclusioncomplex reduces the incidence of gastrointestinal side effects of the drug. The aim of this work was to compare the physicochemical characteristics of the solid complexes prepared by traditional methods (kneading, freeze-drying and spray-drying) and using a supercritical fluid technology. The unusual solvent properties of carbon dioxide above their critical temperature and pressure were exploited in order to prepare inclusion compounds. Complexes prepared using supercritical fluid technology showed similar properties to those of freeze-drying andspray-drying complexes as proved by DSC, FT-IRand UV.     

Synthesis of new colloidal formations during the strengthening of different activated hydrated metallurgical slags

This paper reports on a comparison of experimental researches on the hydration hardening of different types of dumped ferrous slag (DFS) (blast furnace, open hearth, electric steel and converter), non-activated and activated with small (2%) additions of Portland cement or lime. Activation was found to accelerate the strengthening processes in the early stages of hydration resulting from the growth of colloidal sol–gel new formations in a more alkaline environment. Over time, these formations became denser and transformed into stone-like amorphous materials with a uniaxial strength of up to 47.6 MPa at 1 year of age. All these types of slag can, therefore, be used in different applications, for example, like traditional binders, such as Portland cement, to different ceramic goods, new construction materials, etc. But till now the results of this research were used only for the preparing of binder materials for natural soils strengthening as road bases in Russia. Highways whose roadbeds were built with these DFS as binder materials have shown excellent performance indices in different parts of Russia, including Siberia and northern regions.     

Examining the balance between efficiency and resilience in closed-loop supply chains

Central European Journal of Operations Research - We study a hybrid system where the demand of customers can be satisfied by both manufacturing new products and remanufacturing used products. To...     

Clean osmium-catalyzed asymmetric dihydroxylation of olefins in ionic liquids and supercritical CO2 product recovery

The combination of ionic liquids (ILs) as solvents in the asymmetric Sharpless dihydroxylation (AD) with the use of scCO(2) in the separation process allows a very simple, efficient, clean and robust system for the reuse of the AD catalytic system, which also does not need the use of organic solvents either for the reaction or for the separation of products and allows the isolation of the diol, in high yield and enantiomeric excess and basically without contamination with osmium.     

Osmium catalyzed asymmetric dihydroxylation of methyl trans-cinnamate in ionic liquids, followed by supercritical CO2 product recovery

In this work, osmium-catalyzed asymmetric dihydroxylation (AD) of methyl trans-cinnamate was studied. Osmium and chiral ligand catalysts were immobilized in ionic liquid only, without any other reaction solvents, while the recovery of the product was performed by extraction with supercritical CO₂, and compared with results obtained by extractions with organic solvents such as hexane and diethyl ether. In supercritical CO₂ extraction experiments, optimal extraction pressure was found and ionic liquid chosen, so that the highest reaction yields coupled with lowest osmium content in the crude product can be achieved. Finally, recycle experiments of the same (ionic liquid + catalytic system) mixture were successfully conducted. Application of ionic liquids and supercritical CO₂ in osmium catalyzed AD allows for the isolation of the diol basically without contamination with osmium, in high yield and enantiomeric excess, and it makes possible the efficient reuse of ionic liquid solvent and the catalytic system.     

Multi-scale homogenization-based modeling of semi-crystalline polymers

This paper presents a finite-strain, multi-scale constitutive model for semi-crystalline polymers, accounting explicitly for the current state and evolution of the underlying crystallographic, lamellar and morphological texture. Specifically, a semi-crystalline polymer is modeled as a two-scale composite, assumed to be, at the larger length scale, an aggregate of randomly distributed grains that, at the smaller length scale, are made up of alternating layers of an amorphous and a crystalline phase. The model incorporates finite elasticity for the amorphous phase and crystallographic hardening for the crystalline phase. The instantaneous effective response of this composite is determined by means of multi-scale homogenization methods, consisting in the use of a “linear comparison composite” (LCC) with the same internal structure as the actual nonlinear composite, with local properties that are optimally chosen via suitably designed variational principles. The effective properties of the resulting two-scale LCC are obtained through a “sequential” homogenization procedure, involving the exact solution for the effective behavior of the lamellar grains and a self-consistent estimate for the aggregate. The latter results are also used to establish evolution laws for the appropriate internal variables in the material. The predictions of the model for the macroscopic response and texture evolution in high-density polyethylene are confronted with available experimental results and compared with those of earlier models.