Regeneration of Cellulose from a Switchable Ionic Liquid: Toward More Sustainable Cellulose Fibers

A CO$_{2}$ switchable solvent system is investigated to find an environmentally friendlier way to produce man‐made cellulose fibers. Cellulose solutions with concentrations from 2 wt% to 8 wt%, based on derivative and non‐derivative dissolution approaches, are investigated. Three different switchable solvent systems are tested. After accessing the stability of the produced cellulose solutions, their regeneration is investigated using different alcoholic coagulation media. In order to find a suitable coagulation medium and stable cellulose solution, a dissolution–regeneration cycle is investigated, while trying to minimize the amount of waste by recovering the employed solvents. The process is optimized and the resulting fibers are characterized by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, optical microscopy, as well as scanning electron microscopy

Sustainable Synthesis of Non‐Isocyanate Polyurethanes Based on Renewable 2,3‐Butanediol

In this work, three different cyclic carbonates are obtained from renewable diols and transformed into carbamates by reacting them with renewable 11-amino undecanoic acid methyl ester to synthesize non-isocyanate poly(ester urethane)s in a sustainable manner. A procedure using 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) as a renewable starting material to synthesize a cyclic carbonate with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is introduced, catalyzed by 1,5,7-triazabicylco[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD). Three purification strategies, i.e., column chromatography, extraction, and distillation, are compared regarding their E-Factors. Propylene glycol (PG) and ethylene glycol (EG) are used as alternative starting materials to broaden the substrate scope and compare material properties, their cyclic carbonates likewise react to carbamates with 11-amino undecanoic acid methyl ester. All carbamates are then polymerized in a bulk polycondensation reaction, yielding non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs), specifically poly (ester urethane)s, with molecular weights (M$_n$) up to 10 kDa. Complete characterization is reported using differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), size exclusion chromatographic measurements (SEC), $^1$H-NMR as well as IR spectroscopy. The rheological properties of the poly(ester urethane)s are investigated in the framework of small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) and uniaxial elongation

Metabolomics reveals an entanglement of fasting leptin concentrations with fatty acid oxidation and gluconeogenesis in healthy children

Background Leptin and adiponectin communicate with organ systems in order to regulate energetic and metabolic homeostasis. Their different points of action have been well characterized;however, no study has investigated their interrelationship with the metabolism at the molecular level in vivo. Objective To examine the associations of leptin and adiponectin with the metabolic profile reflecting the intercellular and interorgan communication as well as activated metabolic pathways. Patients/Methods We measured plasma concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, and insulin along with concentrations of 196 metabolites in 400 healthy, fasting 8-years old German children who participated in the German Ulm Birth Cohort Study (UBCS). Using multiple linear mixed models, we evaluated the associations between hormones and metabolites. Results Leptin levels increased exponentially with increasing BMI. Leptin was furthermore strongly associated with alanine and aspartate (Bonferroni corrected P[P-BF] = 5.7x10(-8) and 1.7x10(-6), respectively), and negatively associated to the sum of the non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and the sum of the long-chain acylcarnitines C12-C18 (P-BF = 0.009 and 0.0001, respectively). Insulin showed a similar association pattern, although the associations were less strong than for leptin. Adiponectin was neither related to BMI nor to any metabolite. Conclusion Although children were presumably metabolically similar, we found strong associations of insulin and leptin with the metabolite profile. High alanine concentrations and the lower concentrations of NEFA in children with high fasting leptin concentrations might arise from an increased gluconeogenesis and from the disinhibiting effect of leptin on the carnitine-palmitoyltransferase-1, respectively. As insulin had the same trend towards these associations, both hormones seem to be related to processes that provide the body with energy in fasting state

Omega‑3 fatty acids in bipolar patients with a low omega‑3 index and reduced heart rate variability: the “BIPO‑3” trial

Background: Research suggests that a low omega-3 index may contribute to the low heart rate variability and the increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in bipolar disorders. However, so far, no intervention trial with EPA and DHA has been conducted in bipolar patients attempting to increase their heart rate variability. - Methods: 119 patients with bipolar disorder according to DSM-IV were screened, with 55 euthymic bipolar patients—owing to inclusion criteria (e.g. low omega-3 index (< 6%), SDNN < 60 ms.)—being enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, 12-week parallel study design with omega-3 fatty acids (4 capsules of 530 mg EPA, 150 mg DHA) or corn oil as a placebo, in addition to usual treatment. Heart rate variability as well as the omega-3 index were measured at baseline and at the endpoint of the study. - Results: A total of 42 patients (omega-3: n = 23, corn oil: n = 19) successfully completed the study after 12 weeks. There was a significant increase in the omega-3 index (value at endpoint minus value at baseline) in the omega-3 group compared to the corn oil group (p < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in the change of the SDNN (value at endpoint minus value at baseline) between the treatment groups (p = 0.22). In addition, no correlation between changes in SDNN and change in the omega-3 index could be detected in the omega-3 group (correlation coefficient = 0.02, p = 0.94) or the corn oil group (correlation coefficient = − 0.11, p = 0.91). Similarly, no significant differences between corn oil and omega-3 group regarding the change of LF (p = 0.19), HF (p = 0.34) and LF/HF ratio (p = 0.84) could be demonstrated. - Conclusions: In our randomized, controlled intervention trial in euthymic bipolar patients with a low omega-3 index and reduced heart rate variability no significant effect of omega-3 fatty acids on SDNN or frequency-domain measures HF, LF and LF/HF ratio could be detected. Possible reasons include, among others, the effect of psychotropic medication present in our trial and/or the genetics of bipolar disorder itself. Further research is needed to test these hypotheses

The scatter plot of SDS-BMI versus leptin, adiponectin, and insulin plasma concentrations provided along with a LOESS (locally fitted regression) line.

<p>The scatter plot of SDS-BMI versus leptin, adiponectin, and insulin plasma concentrations provided along with a LOESS (locally fitted regression) line.</p

Manhattan plots for the associations of plasma fasting leptin (A) and fasting insulin (B) with plasma metabolites.

<p>Results are based on one multiple linear mixed models model for each metabolite: we regressed each metabolite on leptin, adiponectin, insulin, age, sex, and BMI and included a random intercept for batch number. Standardized β estimates (y-axis) of 200 metabolites and metabolite ratios are presented, grouped according to their chemical properties (x-axis). Estimates quantify the number of standard deviation units metabolite concentration changes with an increase in one standard deviation in log-transformed leptin and untransformed insulin concentrations. In bold are those metabolites which were significantly related to leptin / insulin. The coloring of the points indicates the Bonferroni corrected P-value [<i>P</i>_BF] of the respective β estimate as indicated in the color bar below the plot; the black vertical line in the color bar indicates the Bonferroni corrected significance level. CPT-1 reflects the acylcarnitine ratio (C16+C18)/C0; CPT-2 reflects the acylcarnitine ratio C2/(C16+C18). Abbreviations: Carn, acylcarnitine; LCA, long-chain acylcarnitine; LPC, lysophosphatidylcholine; PCaa, diacyl-phosphatidylcholine; PCae, acyl-alkyl-phosphatidylcholine; SM, sphingomyeline; NEFA, non-esterified acid.</p

Baseline characteristics of the study population.

<p>Data are given as mean ± SD unless otherwise indicated.</p

An individual participant data meta-analysis on metabolomics profiles for obesity and insulin resistance in European children

Abstract Childhood obesity prevalence is rising in countries worldwide. A variety of etiologic factors contribute to childhood obesity but little is known about underlying biochemical mechanisms. We performed an individual participant meta-analysis including 1,020 pre-pubertal children from three European studies and investigated the associations of 285 metabolites measured by LC/MS-MS with BMI z-score, height, weight, HOMA, and lipoprotein concentrations. Seventeen metabolites were significantly associated with BMI z-score. Sphingomyelin (SM) 32:2 showed the strongest association with BMI z-score (P = 4.68 × 10−23) and was also closely related to weight, and less strongly to height and LDL, but not to HOMA. Mass spectrometric analyses identified SM 32:2 as myristic acid containing SM d18:2/14:0. Thirty-five metabolites were significantly associated to HOMA index. Alanine showed the strongest positive association with HOMA (P = 9.77 × 10−16), while acylcarnitines and non-esterified fatty acids were negatively associated with HOMA. SM d18:2/14:0 is a powerful marker for molecular changes in childhood obesity. Tracing back the origin of SM 32:2 to dietary source in combination with genetic predisposition will path the way for early intervention programs. Metabolic profiling might facilitate risk prediction and personalized interventions in overweight children