Polyamides based on a partially bio-based spirodiamine

In this study novel, fully and partially bio-based polyamides containing spiroacetal moieties in the backbone derived from bio-glycerol and bio-ethanol were prepared and characterized. The renewable diamine employed to obtain a series of polyamides was synthesized by means of thiolene click chemistry and therefore contains flexible thioether as well as rigid spiroacetal moieties. Two different chemical pathways for the polymerization were investigated and evaluated. The polymerization of polyamide salts proved to be the most promising method and therefore salt polymerization was applied in the synthesis of polyamides with aliphatic and aromatic di-carboxylic acids. Subsequently, the structure of the polymers was confirmed by Maldi-ToF analysis and additionally thermal and mechanical properties were investigated revealing T-g's between 24 and 80 degrees C and ductile materials with moduli between 1.0 and 1.5 GPa. Both semicrystalline and amorphous polyamides were thermally stable and therefore suitable for thermal processing. In the end, degradation studies were performed on the acetal containing polyamides which showed that the polymers were stable at pH 3 and higher

Revisiting the effects of organized mammography programs on inequalities in breast screening uptake : a multilevel analysis of nationwide data from 1997 to 2017

This study revisits the effects of mammography screening programs on inequalities in breast screening uptake in Switzerland. The progressive introduction of regional mammography programs by 12 out of the 26 Swiss cantons (regions) since 1999 offers an opportunity to perform an ecological quasi-experimental study. We examine absolute income and marital status inequalities in mammography uptake, and whether the cantons' implementation of mammography programs moderate these inequalities, as previous research has devoted little attention to this. We use five waves of the Swiss Health Interview Survey covering the 1997–2017 period and comprising data on 14,267 women aged 50–70. Both up-to-date and ever-screening outcomes are analyzed with multilevel models which assess the mammography programs' within-canton effect. Findings show that higher income women and married women (compared to unmarried women) had significantly higher mammography uptake probabilities. Mammography programs did not moderate absolute income differences in up-to-date screening; however, they were associated with smaller absolute income differences in ever-screening uptake. Mammography programs related to higher screening uptake for married women, more than for unmarried women. In conclusion, we showed absolute income inequalities in mammography uptake which were not revealed by previous studies using relative inequality measures. Mammography programs may have contributed to reducing income inequalities in ever-screening, yet this was not observed for up-to-date screening. This study has implication for preventive health interventions—e.g., cancer screening promotion should pay attention to women's marital status since screening programs may widen the screening gap between married and unmarried women

Search for Supersymmetry in pp Collisions at root s=13 TeV in the Single-Lepton Final State Using the Sum of Masses of Large-Radius Jets

Peer reviewe

Search for the bcb_c meson in hadronic Z decays

A search for the Bc meson decaying into the channels J/psi pi+ and J/psi l nu (l = e or mu) is performed in a sample of 3.9 million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH detector. This search results in the observation of 0 and 2 candidates in each of these channels, respectively, while 0.44 and 0.81 background events are expected. The following 90\% confidence level upper limits are derived: Br(Z->Bc X)/Br(Z->q q )*Br(Bc->J/psi pi+) 3.6 10^-5 Br(Z->Bc X)/Br(Z->q q )*Br(Bc->J/psi l nu) 5.2 10^-5 An additional Bc->J/psi(e+e-) mu nu candidate with very low background probability, found in an independent analysis, is also described in detail

Study of muon-pair production at centre-of-mass energies from 20 to 136 GeV with the Aleph detector

The total cross section and the forward-backward asymmetry for the process $e^+ e^- \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^- (n \gamma)$ are measured in the energy range 20-136 GeV by reconstructing the effective centre-of-mass energy after initial state radiation. The analysis is based on the data recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP between 1990 and 1995, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 143.5 $\mathrm{pb}^{-1}$. Two different approaches are used: in the first one an exclusive selection of events with hard initial state radiation in the energy range 20-88 GeV is directly compared with the Standard Model predictions showing good agreement. In the second one, all events are used to obtain a precise measurement of the energy dependence of $\sigma^0$ and $A_{\mathrm{FB}}^0$ from a model independent fit, enabling constraints to be placed on models with extra Z bosons

Effects of dexfenfluramine on aristolochic acid nephrotoxicity in a rat model for Chinese-herb nephropathy

Chinese-herb nephropathy (CHN) is a progressive renal interstitial fibrosis initially reported after concomitant intake of an anorexigen, (dex)fenfluramine, and a Chinese herb ( Aristolochia fangchi) containing nephrotoxic and carcinogenic aristolochic acid (AA). We thus tested the possible enhancing effect of the active enantiomer dexfenfluramine (DXF) on AA nephrotoxicity in a rat model for CHN. Groups of 12 salt-depleted male Wistar rats received daily subcutaneous injections of 7 mg/kg body weight DXF (DXF group), 7 mg/kg body weight AA (AA group), a combination of the same doses of AA and DXF (AA+DXF group), or vehicle (control group) for up to 35 days. Six animals per group were killed on day 10 and the remaining six on day 35. Renal function was evaluated by determining serum creatinine and urinary leucine aminopeptidase activity. Histological evaluation of kidney samples was performed and tubulointerstitial injuries were semiquantified. The DXF group did not differ from controls for any parameter. Similarly elevated serum creatinine levels, decreased leucine aminopeptidase enzymuria, and renal lesions were observed in the AA and the AA+DXF groups after both 10 and 35 days. The formation of specific AA-DNA adducts in liver and renal tissue samples was assessed by the (32)P-postlabelling method. Specific AA-DNA adduct levels were significantly increased in kidney tissues from AA+DXF rats compared with AA rats. These functional and histological data suggest that DXF does not enhance AA nephrotoxicity in a rat model for CHN. Further investigations are needed to clarify the mechanism by which DXF may enhance AA-DNA adduct formation.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Early proximal tubular injury in experimental aristolochic acid nephropathy: functional and histological studies

BACKGROUND: Aristolochic acid (AA), the plant extract of Aristolochia species, is involved in the onset of progressive tubulointerstitial renal fibrosis in humans. Clinical and in vitro findings have previously suggested that the proximal tubule was the target of AA. METHODS: Using a rat model of AA nephropathy, the proximal tubular lesions induced by daily subcutaneous injections of AA for 35 or 5 days were characterized biochemically and histologically. Urinary excretion of proteins, albumin, low molecular weight proteins, N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase, alpha-glutathione S-transferase, leucine aminopeptidase and neutral endopeptidase (NEP) was determined and related to histological conventional findings and immunostainings of NEP and megalin. RESULTS: In both protocols, an acute phase of release of urinary markers was observed within the first 3 days of AA treatment in parallel with a significant increase of specific AA-related DNA adducts reflecting early tubular intoxication. A dramatic loss of the proximal tubule brush border was histologically confirmed, while the expression of megalin decreased at the damaged apical epithelium (mainly of the S3 segment). CONCLUSION: Proximal tubule injury occurs early after AA intoxication in rats, with a link between specific AA-DNA adduct formation, decreased megalin expression and inhibition of receptor-mediated endocytosis of low molecular weight proteins, bringing in vivo confirmation of previous in vitro studies.Comparative StudyJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Therapeutic potential of anti-transforming growth factor-ß antibody on acute tubulo-interstitial injury in aristolochic acid nephropathy

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe