Coatings with Inversely Switching Behavior. New Applications of Core-Shell Hydrogel Particles.

The main goal of this work is design and synthesis of novel composite hydrogel-based core-shell microparticles and their application for fabrication of coatings, which provide the “inverse-switching” behaviour to the surface, namely, to become more hydrophobic in water environment. Since contact angle of heterogeneous surfaces is dependent on the nature and ratio of surface components, an increase of amount of more hydrophobic component on the surface will cause the reducing of surface wettability. It was suggested that core-shell particles having water-swellable hydrogel core and hydrophobic, but permeable for water shell when deposited on the hydrophilic substrate should increase the total amount of hydrophobic component on the surface when the cores of particles will swell in water. During the work different approaches to obtain freely dispersed and surface-immobilized core-shell particles with required structure were developed. Obtained particles were applied for preparation of coatings with ability to display “inverse-switching” behaviour. It was demonstrated that properly designed and properly prepared core-shell particles could be successfully used for creation of smart adaptive coatings having the ability to alter the surface properties upon changing of the environment

Decision support system tool for the evaluation of sustainability of rural water supply services

This study formulates a DSS tool that can aid the rural water supply engineer and planner in decision making regarding the sustainability of rural water supply services. Three modules that comprises functionalities for data input, data analysis and display of results are employed in the computer program, developed by the author using visual basic. The DSS tool identifies the sustainability status of a particular water supply service and further goes to identify the factors behind it. The DSS tool further scrutinizes between different water supply sources in a district to decide which type of water source is sustainable in that particular district. The DSS tool is applied on specific sites at Ethiopia. The results show increased social participation contributing to increased sustainability, schemes with distribution are more sustainable than isolated on spot schemes and increased cost recovery of the services contributing to increased sustainability of the rural water supply services

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: new additional non-invasive diagnostic markers and risks of comorbid diseases

Background. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a pressing issue in modern society. While excess circulating glucose and insulin resistance contribute to its pathogenesis, the diagnosis poses particular challenges. The purpose of the study was to identify new additional non-invasive diagnostic markers of NAFLD and the risk of developing comorbid diseases in these patients. Materials and methods. The study involved 64 men aged 39 to 62 years: 35 patients were diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease according to EASL-EASD-EASO guidelines, 29 patients comprised the control group. The results of complete blood count, biochemical blood tests, and abdominal ultrasound were evaluated in both groups. Results. Patients with NAFLD had significantly higher body weight and body mass index, higher glucose, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins, atherogenic index, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase. Additional non-invasive markers of NAFLD were high body mass index, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins, atherogenic index, and alanine aminotransferase, which may also indicate future risks of type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Conclusions. Among patients with NAFLD within three years, hypertension occurred in 22.2 % of cases and type 2 diabetes in 20.0 %, which is higher than in patients without NAFLD (8.7 and 4.3 %, respectively). We found that at the time of initial examination, patients with NAFLD had higher body weight and body mass index, as well as higher glucose, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins, atherogenic index, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase. From these metrics, we identified high body mass index, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins, atherogenic index, alkaline phosphatase as potential non-invasive risk markers for NAFLD. This highlights the importance of studying them for the early diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and hypertension, which could improve the treatment of this cohort of patients in the future

Coatings with Inversely Switching Behavior. New Applications of Core-Shell Hydrogel Particles.

The main goal of this work is design and synthesis of novel composite hydrogel-based core-shell microparticles and their application for fabrication of coatings, which provide the “inverse-switching” behaviour to the surface, namely, to become more hydrophobic in water environment. Since contact angle of heterogeneous surfaces is dependent on the nature and ratio of surface components, an increase of amount of more hydrophobic component on the surface will cause the reducing of surface wettability. It was suggested that core-shell particles having water-swellable hydrogel core and hydrophobic, but permeable for water shell when deposited on the hydrophilic substrate should increase the total amount of hydrophobic component on the surface when the cores of particles will swell in water. During the work different approaches to obtain freely dispersed and surface-immobilized core-shell particles with required structure were developed. Obtained particles were applied for preparation of coatings with ability to display “inverse-switching” behaviour. It was demonstrated that properly designed and properly prepared core-shell particles could be successfully used for creation of smart adaptive coatings having the ability to alter the surface properties upon changing of the environment

Coatings with Inversely Switching Behavior. New Applications of Core-Shell Hydrogel Particles.

The main goal of this work is design and synthesis of novel composite hydrogel-based core-shell microparticles and their application for fabrication of coatings, which provide the “inverse-switching” behaviour to the surface, namely, to become more hydrophobic in water environment. Since contact angle of heterogeneous surfaces is dependent on the nature and ratio of surface components, an increase of amount of more hydrophobic component on the surface will cause the reducing of surface wettability. It was suggested that core-shell particles having water-swellable hydrogel core and hydrophobic, but permeable for water shell when deposited on the hydrophilic substrate should increase the total amount of hydrophobic component on the surface when the cores of particles will swell in water. During the work different approaches to obtain freely dispersed and surface-immobilized core-shell particles with required structure were developed. Obtained particles were applied for preparation of coatings with ability to display “inverse-switching” behaviour. It was demonstrated that properly designed and properly prepared core-shell particles could be successfully used for creation of smart adaptive coatings having the ability to alter the surface properties upon changing of the environment

Decision support system tool for the evaluation of sustainability of rural water supply services

This study formulates a DSS tool that can aid the rural water supply engineer and planner in decision making regarding the sustainability of rural water supply services. Three modules that comprises functionalities for data input, data analysis and display of results are employed in the computer program, developed by the author using visual basic. The DSS tool identifies the sustainability status of a particular water supply service and further goes to identify the factors behind it. The DSS tool further scrutinizes between different water supply sources in a district to decide which type of water source is sustainable in that particular district. The DSS tool is applied on specific sites at Ethiopia. The results show increased social participation contributing to increased sustainability, schemes with distribution are more sustainable than isolated on spot schemes and increased cost recovery of the services contributing to increased sustainability of the rural water supply services

Polymer microcapsules loaded with Ag nanocatalyst as active microreactors

We report on the fabrication of a new complex catalytic system composed of silica-supported silver nanoparticles (AgNP) encapsulated inside polymer microcapsules (MC)s. The silver nanocatalyst itself was obtained by reduction of silver salt in the presence of SiO₂ particles acting as AgNP carriers, to provide a complex Ag/SiO₂ catalyst with the Ag surface completely free of capping agents. Ag/SiO₂ particles were enclosed inside the interior of polymer microcapsules. Due to the presence of the hydrophobic shell on the MC surface, catalytic reactions become feasible in an organic solvent environment. On the other hand, the hydrophilic nature of the MC interior forces the water-soluble reactants to concentrate inside the capsules which act as microreactors. Based on the example of catalytically driven reduction of 4-nitrophenol we demonstrate that encapsulated Ag/SiO₂ particles possess enhanced catalytic activity as compared to the catalyst being freely dispersed in reaction medium

Polymer microcapsules loaded with Ag nanocatalyst as active microreactors

Silica-supported silver nanoparticles (Ag/SiO2) encapsulated inside the PNIPAM-based microcapsules (MC) were proved to be an efficient and easy-to-handle catalyst. Due to the hydrophilic nature of MCs, they act as microreactors in a mixed organic–aqueous environment. It was demonstrated that the catalytic activity of encapsulated Ag/SiO2 substantially exceeds that of freely dispersed catalyst.</p