All crystal clear: 18th-century glass à la façon de Bohème from the cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine, Belgium

Excavations at the Cistercian nunnery of Clairefontaine, located near Arlon in the south of Belgium, revealed an assemblage of 18th-century colorless glass. The morphology of the vessels and the engraved decoration suggest a central European origin or, at least, stylistic inspiration. The composition of the glass points to a recipe combining silica, lime, and potash: a colorless potash glass à la façon de Bohème. This article considers the technology, morphology, and origin of the vessels. The art-historical analysis is supported by chemical research (scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy [SEM-EDX]). The finds are also discussed in light of the emerging northwestern European glass industry, changing consumer practices during the 18th century, and their meaning for the inhabitants of the abbey

Inhibition of herpes simplex-1 virus replication by 25-hydroxycholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol

Oxysterols are known pleiotropic molecules whose antiviral action has been recently discovered. Here reported is the activity of a panel of oxysterols against HSV-1 with the identification of a new mechanism of action. A marked antiviral activity not only of 25HC but also of 27HC against HSV-1 was observed either if the oxysterols were added before or after infection, suggesting an activity unrelated to the viral entry inhibition as proposed by previous literature. Therefore, the relation between the pro-inflammatory activity of oxysterols and the activation of NF-kB and IL-6 induced by HSV-1 in the host cell was investigated. Indeed, cell pre-incubation with oxysterols further potentiated IL-6 production as induced by HSV-1 infection with a consequent boost of the interleukin's total cell secretion. Further, a direct antiviral effect of IL-6 administration to HSV-1 infected cells was demonstrated, disclosing an additional mechanism of antiviral action by both 25HC and 27HC. Keywords: Oxysterols, 27-hydroxycholesterol, 25-hydroxycholesterol, Herpes simplex-1, Viral inhibition, Interleukin-

Synchrotron XRF Analysis Identifies Cerium Accumulation Colocalized with Pharyngeal Deformities in CeO2 NP-Exposed Caenorhabditis elegans

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Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles By Chemical Reduction Method: Effect of Reducing Agent and Surfactant Concentration

Uniform, well-dispersed, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared by a simple chemical reduction method. The particles were synthesized via the reduction of AgNO3 by trisodium citrate and ascorbic acid as a surfactant. The resulting AgNPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the size of the AgNPs ranged from 35–80 nm, with an average of 50 nm. In this study, the effects of trisodium citrate and ascorbic acid, which act as reducing agent and surfactant respectively on the morphology of the silver nanoparticles, were investigated. It was found that the increasing concentration of trisodium citrate resulted in decreasing size of silver nanoparticles, while increasing the concentration of ascorbic acid shows the opposite effect. Moreover, the quasi-spherical shape of as-synthesized silver nanoparticles is also more uniform with the increase of trisodium citrate. Meanwhile, a slight change in particle shape from quasi-spherical to polygonal was observed as the concentrations of ascorbic acid were increased