Comparison of lignin derivatives as substrates for laccase-catalyzed scavenging of oxygen in coatings and films

Background: Lignin derivatives are phenylpropanoid biopolymers derived from pulping and biorefinery processes. The possibility to utilize lignin derivatives from different types of processes in advanced enzyme-catalyzed oxygen-scavenging systems intended for active packaging was explored. Laccase-catalyzed oxidation of alkali lignin (LA), hydrolytic lignin (LH), organosolv lignin (LO), and lignosulfonates (LS) was compared using oxygen-scavenging coatings and films in liquid and gas phase systems. Results: When coatings containing lignin derivatives and laccase were immersed in a buffered aqueous solution, the oxygen-scavenging capability increased in the order LO < LH < LA < LS. Experiments with coatings containing laccase and LO, LH or LA incubated in oxygen-containing gas in air-tight chambers and at a relative humidity (RH) of 100% showed that paperboard coated with LO and laccase reduced the oxygen content from 1.0% to 0.4% during a four-day period, which was far better than the results obtained with LA or LH. LO-containing coatings incubated at 92% RH also displayed activity, with a decrease in oxygen from 1.0% to 0.7% during a four-day period. The oxygen scavenging was not related to the content of free phenolic hydroxyl groups, which increased in the order LO < LS < LH < LA. LO and LS were selected for further studies and films containing starch, clay, glycerol, laccase and LO or LS were characterized using gel permeation chromatograpy, dynamic mechanical analysis, and wet stability. Conclusions: The investigation shows that different lignin derivatives exhibit widely different properties as a part of active coatings and films. Results indicate that LS and LO were most suitable for the application studied and differences between them were attributed to a higher degree of laccase-catalyzed cross-linking of LS than of LO. Inclusion in active-packaging systems offers a new way to utilize some types of lignin derivatives from biorefining processes

Laser-Ultrasound-Based Grain Size Gauge for the Hot Strip Mill

The paper summarizes the creation of a robust online grain size gauge for a hot strip mill. A method and algorithm for calculating the grain size from the measured ultrasonic attenuation is presented. This new method is self-calibrating, does not rely on a geometrical reference sample and can cope with the effects of diffraction on the attenuation. The model is based on 52 quenched samples measured with more than 23,000 laser ultrasonics shots and has a correlation coefficient R2 of 0.8. Typical online laser ultrasonic measurements from the hot strip mill and the calculated grain size versus length are presented for a couple of steel strips

Laser ultrasonics for online monitoring of microstructures in the hot strip mill

QC 20231030</p

Laser ultrasonics for online monitoring of microstructures in the hot strip mill

QC 20231030</p

Själens uttryck : Passion, dygd och andakt – samspel mellan själ och kropp i 1600-talets människosyn

Innehåller: Roussinova, Roussina; Passioner och uttryck i måleriet. Gillgren, Peter; Meditativt tänkande. Malm, Mats; Genre och känsla. Cavalli-Björkman, Görel; Den botgörande Maria Magdalena. Sellberg, Erland; Den barocka människan. Berglund, Lars; De musica pathetica. Sidén, Karin; Inför evigheten. Rossholm Lagerlöf, Margaretha; Inlevelse, “concerto”, paradox. Ekedahl, Nils; Från affekt till dygd

Mortality with paclitaxel-coated devices in peripheral artery disease

BACKGROUND The results of a recent meta-analysis aroused concern about an increased risk of death associated with the use of paclitaxel-coated angioplasty balloons and stents in lower-limb endovascular interventions for symptomatic peripheral artery disease. METHODS We conducted an unplanned interim analysis of data from a multicenter, randomized, open-label, registry-based clinical trial. At the time of the analysis, 2289 patients had been randomly assigned to treatment with drug-coated devices (the drug-coated-device group, 1149 patients) or treatment with uncoated devices (the uncoated-device group, 1140 patients). Randomization was stratified according to disease severity on the basis of whether patients had chronic limb-threatening ischemia (1480 patients) or intermittent claudication (809 patients). The single end point for this interim analysis was all-cause mortality. RESULTS No patients were lost to follow-up. Paclitaxel was used as the coating agent for all the drug-coated devices. During a mean follow-up of 2.49 years, 574 patients died, including 293 patients (25.5%) in the drug-coated-device group and 281 patients (24.6%) in the uncoated-device group (hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 0.92 to 1.22). At 1 year, all-cause mortality was 10.2% (117 patients) in the drug-coated-device group and 9.9% (113 patients) in the uncoated-device group. During the entire follow-up period, there was no significant difference in the incidence of death between the treatment groups among patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (33.4% [249 patients] in the drug-coated-device group and 33.1% [243 patients] in the uncoated-device group) or among those with intermittent claudication (10.9% [44 patients] and 9.4% [38 patients], respectively). CONCLUSIONS In this randomized trial in which patients with peripheral artery disease received treatment with paclitaxel-coated or uncoated endovascular devices, the results of an unplanned interim analysis of all-cause mortality did not show a difference between the groups in the incidence of death during 1 to 4 years of follow-up