Determination of sodium fatty acid in soap Formulation Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and multivariate calibrations.

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using an attenuated total reflectance (ATR) accessory has been investigated as a method for the determination of sodium-fatty acid (sodium-FA) in soap formulations. Multivariate calibrations namely partial least squares regression (PLS) and principle component regression (PCR) were developed for the prediction of sodium-FA using spectral ranges on the basis of relevant IR absorption bands related to sodium-FA. The sodium-FA content in soap formulations was predicted accurately at wavenumbers of 1,570–1,550 cm−1, which is specific for RCOO− Na+ vibration. The PLS method was found to be a consistently better predictor when both PLS and principal component regression (PCR) analyses were used for quantification of sodium-FA. Furthermore, FTIR spectroscopy can be an alternative technique to American oil Chemist Society methods which use a titrimetric technique because FTIR offers rapid, easy sample preparation and is friendly to the environment

Species recovery in the united states: Increasing the effectiveness of the endangered species act

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has succeeded in shielding hundreds of species from extinction and improving species recovery over time. However, recovery for most species officially protected by the ESA - i.e., listed species-has been harder to achieve than initially envisioned. Threats to species are persistent and pervasive, funding has been insufficient, the distribution of money among listed species is highly uneven, and at least 10 times more species than are actually listed probably qualify for listing. Moreover, many listed species will require ongoing management for the foreseeable future to protect them from persistent threats. Climate change will exacerbate this problem and increase both species risk and management uncertainty, requiring more intensive and controversial management strategies to prevent species from going extinct

Suppression of low-density lipoprotein oxidation, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration by a herbal extract of Radix Astragali, Radix Codonopsis and Cortex Lycii

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Atherosclerosis is a major cause of death in developed world. Atherosclerosis is characterized by low-density lipoprotein deposition in the arterial wall which ultimately begets the formation of lesions. Rupture of lesions finally leads to clinical events such as heart attack and stroke. Atherosclerosis is a complication associated with diabetes. In patients with diabetes, the risk of atherosclerosis is three to five folds greater than in non-diabetics. Our previous study showed that a herbal extract of <it>Radix Astragali, Radix Codonopsis </it>and <it>Cortex Lycii</it>, namely SR10, could improve glucose homeostasis both <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>. In this study, we want to further investigate the efficacy of SR10 in treating atherosclerosis.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>The inhibitory effect of SR10 on low-density lipoprotein oxidation was investigated using free radical-induced erythrocyte hemolysis model and copper ion-induced low-density lipoprotein oxidation model. Since vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration are important processes in atherogenesis, we also examined the effect of SR10 in inhibiting these events.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results showed that SR10 inhibited erythrocyte hemolysis with IC₅₀value at 0.25 mg/ml and significantly prolonged low-density lipoprotein oxidation <it>in vitro</it>. SR10 attenuated platelet derived growth factor-BB-induced vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation by promoting cell cycle arrest at G₀/G₁phase as well as inhibiting vascular smooth muscle cell migration.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The potential application of SR10 in treating atherosclerosis has been implied in this study. Animal model will be needed to further verify the efficacy of SR10 in future.</p

Thermal Properties of Graphene, Carbon Nanotubes and Nanostructured Carbon Materials

Recent years witnessed a rapid growth of interest of scientific and engineering communities to thermal properties of materials. Carbon allotropes and derivatives occupy a unique place in terms of their ability to conduct heat. The room-temperature thermal conductivity of carbon materials span an extraordinary large range - of over five orders of magnitude - from the lowest in amorphous carbons to the highest in graphene and carbon nanotubes. I review thermal and thermoelectric properties of carbon materials focusing on recent results for graphene, carbon nanotubes and nanostructured carbon materials with different degrees of disorder. A special attention is given to the unusual size dependence of heat conduction in two-dimensional crystals and, specifically, in graphene. I also describe prospects of applications of graphene and carbon materials for thermal management of electronics.Comment: Review Paper; 37 manuscript pages; 4 figures and 2 boxe

An orphan gene is necessary for preaxial digit formation during salamander limb development

Limb development in salamanders differs from other tetrapods in that the first digits to form are the two most anterior (preaxial dominance). This has been proposed as a salamander novelty and its mechanistic basis is unknown. Salamanders are the only adult tetrapods able to regenerate the limb, and the contribution of preaxial dominance to limb regeneration is unclear. Here we show that during early outgrowth of the limb bud, a small cohort of cells express the orphan gene Prod1 together with Bmp2, a critical player in digit condensation in amniotes. Disruption of Prod1 with a gene-editing nuclease abrogates these cells, and blocks formation of the radius and ulna, and outgrowth of the anterior digits. Preaxial dominance is a notable feature of limb regeneration in the larval newt, but this changes abruptly after metamorphosis so that the formation of anterior and posterior digits occurs together within the autopodium resembling an amniote-like pattern

Digital Gene Expression Profiling by 5′-End Sequencing of cDNAs during Reprogramming in the Moss Physcomitrella patens

Stem cells self-renew and repeatedly produce differentiated cells during development and growth. The differentiated cells can be converted into stem cells in some metazoans and land plants with appropriate treatments. After leaves of the moss Physcomitrella patens are excised, leaf cells reenter the cell cycle and commence tip growth, which is characteristic of stem cells called chloronema apical cells. To understand the underlying molecular mechanisms, a digital gene expression profiling method using mRNA 5′-end tags (5′-DGE) was established. The 5′-DGE method produced reproducible data with a dynamic range of four orders that correlated well with qRT-PCR measurements. After the excision of leaves, the expression levels of 11% of the transcripts changed significantly within 6 h. Genes involved in stress responses and proteolysis were induced and those involved in metabolism, including photosynthesis, were reduced. The later processes of reprogramming involved photosynthesis recovery and higher macromolecule biosynthesis, including of RNA and proteins. Auxin and cytokinin signaling pathways, which are activated during stem cell formation via callus in flowering plants, are also activated during reprogramming in P. patens, although no exogenous phytohormone is applied in the moss system, suggesting that an intrinsic phytohormone regulatory system may be used in the moss

An ongoing process: A qualitative study of how the alcohol-dependent free themselves of addiction through progressive abstinence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most people being treated for alcoholism are unable to successfully quit drinking within their treatment programs. In few cases do we know the full picture of how abstinence is achieved in Taiwan. We tracked processes of abstinence in alcohol-dependency disorders, based on study evidence and results. This research explores the process of recovery from the viewpoint of the alcohol-dependent.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semi-structured interviews were conducted in two different settings, using purpose sampling, during 2003-2004. The data were analyzed using content analysis. Participants were 32 adults, purposefully selected from an Alcoholics Anonymous group and a psychiatric hospital in North Taiwan.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the abstinence process is an ongoing process, in which the alcohol-dependent free themselves of addiction progressively. This process never ends or resolves in complete recovery. We have identified three stages in the struggle against alcoholism: the Indulgence, Ambivalence and Attempt (IAA) cycle, in which the sufferer is trapped in a cycle of attempting to give up and failing; the Turning Point, in which a Personal Nadir is reached, and the Ongoing Process of abstinence, in which a constant effort is made to remain sober through willpower and with the help of support groups. We also discuss Influencing Factors that can derail abstinence attempts, pushing the sufferer back into the IAA cycle.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study provides important points of reference for alcohol and drug service workers and community healthcare professionals in Taiwan, casting light on the abstinence process and providing a basis for intervention or rehabilitation services.</p

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Application of FTIR spectroscopy for the determination of virgin coconut oil in binary mixtures with olive oil and palm oil.

Rapid Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) was applied for quantitative analysis of virgin coconut oil (VCO) in binary mixtures with olive oil (OO) and palm oil (PO). The spectral bands correlated with VCO, OO, PO; blends of VCO and OO; VCO and PO were scanned, interpreted, and identified. Two multivariate calibration methods, partial least square (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR), were used to construct the calibration models that correlate between actual and FTIR-predicted values of VCO contents in the mixtures at the FTIR spectral frequencies of 1,120–1,105 and 965–960 cm−1. The calibration models obtained were cross validated using the “leave one out” method. PLS at these frequencies showed the best calibration model, in terms of the highest coefficient of determination (R 2) and the lowest of root mean standard error of calibration (RMSEC) with R 2 = 0.9992 and RMSEC = 0.756, respectively, for VCO in mixture with OO. Meanwhile, the R 2 and RMSEC values obtained for VCO in mixture with PO were 0.9996 and 0.494, respectively. In general, FTIR spectroscopy serves as a suitable technique for determination of VCO in mixture with the other oils

First Large-Scale DNA Barcoding Assessment of Reptiles in the Biodiversity Hotspot of Madagascar, Based on Newly Designed COI Primers

BACKGROUND: DNA barcoding of non-avian reptiles based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is still in a very early stage, mainly due to technical problems. Using a newly developed set of reptile-specific primers for COI we present the first comprehensive study targeting the entire reptile fauna of the fourth-largest island in the world, the biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Representatives of the majority of Madagascan non-avian reptile species (including Squamata and Testudines) were sampled and successfully DNA barcoded. The new primer pair achieved a constantly high success rate (72.7-100%) for most squamates. More than 250 species of reptiles (out of the 393 described ones; representing around 64% of the known diversity of species) were barcoded. The average interspecific genetic distance within families ranged from a low of 13.4% in the Boidae to a high of 29.8% in the Gekkonidae. Using the average genetic divergence between sister species as a threshold, 41-48 new candidate (undescribed) species were identified. Simulations were used to evaluate the performance of DNA barcoding as a function of completeness of taxon sampling and fragment length. Compared with available multi-gene phylogenies, DNA barcoding correctly assigned most samples to species, genus and family with high confidence and the analysis of fewer taxa resulted in an increased number of well supported lineages. Shorter marker-lengths generally decreased the number of well supported nodes, but even mini-barcodes of 100 bp correctly assigned many samples to genus and family. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The new protocols might help to promote DNA barcoding of reptiles and the established library of reference DNA barcodes will facilitate the molecular identification of Madagascan reptiles. Our results might be useful to easily recognize undescribed diversity (i.e. novel taxa), to resolve taxonomic problems, and to monitor the international pet trade without specialized expert knowledge