Microencapsulation of Three-Component Thermochromic System for Reversible Color Change and Thermal Energy Storage

In this study, poly(methyl methacrylate)/thermochromic system (PMMA/TS) and poly(methyl methacrylate-comethacrylic acid)/thermochromic system (P(MMA-co-MA)/TS) microcapsules were prepared by using emulsion polymerization method. The thermochromic system was consisting of crystal violet lactone (CVL) as a leuco dye, bisphenol-A (BPA) as a color developer, and 1-tetradecanol (TD) as a solvent. Microcapsules with different ratio of core/shell were synthesized to examine the effect of core/shell ratio on the properties of microcapsules. Phase transition temperatures and enthalpies, morphology, and particle size distributions of the microcapsules were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and particle size analyzer instruments, respectively. FT-IR spectroscopy was used to prove the presence of the thermochromic system in the microcapsules. UV-Vis absorption bands of the thermochromic system (TS) and microencapsulated thermochromic system (MTS) at both below and above the melting temperature of the solvent were obtained by using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The visible color change depending on temperature was monitored for each microcapsule individually by using a digital camera. Spherical morphology and unimodal particle size distribution of the microcapsules were determined by means of SEM photographs and particle size distribution curve analysis. The mean particle sizes of the produced microcapsules varied in a range of 16.0-35.2 ?m. The digital camera photographs and the UV-Vis absorbance curves proved that color changed between dark blue and light blue depending upon the temperature change. Meanwhile, the produced microcapsules were proven for an excellent heat storage capacity for thermal energy storage owing to phase changing of the tetradecanol solvent used in the thermochromic system. The melting enthalpy of the microcapsules ranged from 145.5 J/g to 193.4 J/g. © 2018, The Korean Fiber Society and Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature.Süleyman Demirel ÜniversitesiThis work was financially supported by the Süleyman Demirel University (Project No. SDÜ BAP 4602-D2-16)

Effects of breed and fattening system on fatty acid and chemical composition of meat from male lambs

The purpose of this study was to examine the fatty acid and chemical composition of the Longissimus dorsi (LD) from male Tuj and Hemşin lambs reared in extensive, semi-intensive and intensive feeding systems. At the end of 90 days eight lambs from each breed and feeding system were slaughtered to determine chemical composition, and six lambs in each group were selected at random to assess fatty acid composition. Breed and feeding system interaction affected the quantities of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and the atherogenic (AI), thrombogenic (TI), and nutritive value (NVI) indices. In Hemşin the ratio of PUFA to SFA was higher in lambs fed in the extensive system than those produced in the semi-intensive and intensive systems, which were similar, whereas in Tuj this ratio decreased from the extensive to semi-intensive to intensive feeding systems. The ratio of omega n-6 to omega n-3 fatty acids was lower in the extensive and semi-intensive systems than it was in intensively fed Hemşin lambs, but increased with the intensity of feeding in Tuj lambs. Intramuscular fat content was higher in Hemşin lambs than in Tuj lambs and increased with the intensity of the feeding system. Conjugated linoleic acid content (CLA) was affected by feeding system in Hemşin lambs, but not in Tuj lambs. Because of their high PUFA/SFA ratio and low TI value, Tuj lambs reared in extensive feeding system were deemed to have the best performance. © 2022, South African Journal of Animal Sciences. All rights reserved

Evaluation of facial soft tissue parameters for Palestinians using Holdaway analysis

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to evaluate soft-tissue measurements for a Palestinian sample population with normal occlusion by Holdaway’s analysis, and to check the applicability of Holdaway values to the Palestinian population. Normal Holdaway values for Palestinians will be established if their parameters do not match those of Holdaway. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cephalometric radiographs of 93 Palestinian university students with normal occlusion (63 women, mean age: 20.1 ± 2.1 years; 30 men, mean age: 20.2 ± 2.4 years) were traced and evaluated. Cephalometric landmarks were located according to Holdaway analysis. Ten linear and two angular measurements were produced on each radiograph. RESULTS: The soft-tissue measurements for the Palestinians were similar to the Holdaway norms, except for the soft-tissue convexity angle and soft-tissue chin thickness, which were larger than the Holdaway averages. The Palestinian sample had a narrower range for normal nose prominence, as well as thicker lips, deeper superior and inferior sulci, and thicker soft-tissue chins than the Holdaway values. CONCLUSIONS: We determined normal values for the Holdaway soft-tissue analysis for Palestinians, which are appropriate for use in orthodontic practices in these territories

Long noncoding rna malat1 may be a prognostic biomarker in idh1/2 wild-type primary glioblastomas

© 2019 ABMSFBIH. Primary glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive type of brain tumors. While mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) genes are frequent in secondary GBs and correlate with a better prognosis, most primary GBs are IDH wild-type. Recent studies have shown that the long noncoding RNA metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT1) is associated with aggressive tumor phenotypes in different cancers. Our aim was to clarify the prognostic significance of MALAT1 in IDH1/2 wild-type primary GB tumors. We analyzed IDH1/2 mutation status in 75 patients with primary GB by DNA sequencing. The expression of MALAT1 was detected in the 75 primary GB tissues and 5 normal brain tissues using reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The associations between MALAT1 expression, IDH1/2 mutation status, and clinicopathological variables of patients were determined. IDH1 (R132H) mutation was observed in 5/75 primary GBs. IDH2 (R172H) mutation was not detected in any of our cases. MALAT1 expression was significantly upregulated in primary GB vs. normal brain tissues (p = 0.025). Increased MALAT1 expression in IDH1/2 wild-type primary GBs correlated with patient age and tumor localization (p = 0.032 and p = 0.025, respectively). A multivariate analysis showed that high MALAT1 expression was an unfavorable prognostic factor for overall survival (p = 0.034) in IDH1/2 wild-type primary GBs. High MALAT1 expression may have a prognostic role in primary GBs independent of IDH mutations

Frequency of azole resistance in clinical and environmental strains of Aspergillus fumigatus in Turkey: A multicentre study

Objectives: Aspergillus fumigatus causes several diseases in humans and azole resistance in A. fumigatus strains is an important issue. The aim of this multicentre epidemiological study was to investigate the prevalence of azole resistance in clinical and environmental A. fumigatus isolates in Turkey. Methods: Twenty-one centres participated in this study from 1 May 2018 to 1 October 2019. One participant from each centre was asked to collect environmental and clinical A. fumigatus isolates. Azole resistance was screened for using EUCAST agar screening methodology (EUCAST E.DEF 10.1) and was confirmed by the EUCAST E.DEF 9.3 reference microdilution method. Isolates with a phenotypic resistance pattern were sequenced for the cyp51A gene and microsatellite genotyping was used to determine the genetic relationships between the resistant strains. Results: In total, resistance was found in 1.3% of the strains that were isolated from environmental samples and 3.3% of the strains that were isolated from clinical samples. Mutations in the cyp51A gene were detected in 9 (47.4%) of the 19 azole-resistant isolates, all of which were found to be TR34/L98H mutations. Microsatellite genotyping clearly differentiated the strains with the TR34/L98H mutation in the cyp51A gene from the strains with no mutation in this gene. Conclusions: The rate of observed azole resistance of A. fumigatus isolates was low in this study, but the fact that more than half of the examined strains had the wild-Type cyp51A gene supports the idea that other mechanisms of resistance are gradually increasing. © 2022 The Author(s) 2022