Water structure and its influence on the flotation of carbonate and bicarbonate salts

Interfacial water structure is a most important parameter that influences the collector adsorption by salt minerals such as borax, potash and trona. According to previous studies, salts can be classified as water structure makers and water structure breakers. Water structure making and breaking properties of salt minerals in their saturated brine solutions are essential to explain their flotation behavior. In this work, water Structure makin-breaking studies in Solutions of carbonate and bicarbonate salts (Na2CO3, K2CO3, NaHCO3 and NH4HCO3) in 4 wt% D2O in H2O mixtures have been performed by FTIR analysis of the OD stretching band. This method reveals a microscopic picture of the water structure makin-/breakinL, character of the salts in terms of the hydrogen bonding between the water molecules in solution. The results from the vibrational spectroscopic Studies demonstrate that carbonate salts (Na2CO3, K2CO3) act as strong structure makers, whereas bicarbonate salts (NaHCO3 and NH4HCO3) act as weak structure makers. In addition, the changes in the OD band parameters of carbonate and bicarbonate salt solutions are in agreement with the viscosity characteristics of their solutions. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Water structure and its influence on the flotation of carbonate and bicarbonate salts

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 314(2): pp. 545-551.Interfacial water structure is a most important parameter that influences the collector adsorption of salt minerals such as borax, potash and trona. According to previous studies, salts can be classified as water structure makers and water structure breakers. Water structure making and breaking properties of salt minerals in their saturated brine solutions are essential to explain their flotation behavior. In this work, water structure making-breaking studies in solutions of carbonate and bicarbonate salts (Na2CO3, K2CO3, NaHCO3 and NH4HCO3) in 4 wt% D2O in H2O mixtures have been performed by FTIR analysis of the OD stretching band. This method reveals a microscopic picture of the water structure making/breaking character of the salts in terms of the hydrogen bonding between the water molecules in solution. The results from the vibrational spectroscopic studies demonstrate that carbonate salts (Na2CO3 and K2CO3) act as strong structure makers, whereas bicarbonate salts (NaHCO3 and NH4HCO3) act as weak structure makers. In addition, the changes in the OD band parameters of carbonate and bicarbonate salt solutions are in agreement with the viscosity characteristics of their solutions

Evaluation of Sex-Specific Gene Expression in Archived Dried Blood Spots (DBS)

Screening newborns for treatable serious conditions is mandated in all US states and many other countries. After screening, Guthrie cards with residual blood (whole spots or portions of spots) are typically stored at ambient temperature in many facilities. The potential of archived dried blood spots (DBS) for at-birth molecular studies in epidemiological and clinical research is substantial. However, it is also challenging as analytes from DBS may be degraded due to preparation and storage conditions. We previously reported an improved assay for obtaining global RNA gene expression from blood spots. Here, we evaluated sex-specific gene expression and its preservation in DBS using oligonucleotide microarray technology. We found X inactivation-specific transcript (<em>XIST</em>), lysine-specific demethylase 5D (<em>KDM5D</em>) (also known as selected cDNA on Y, homolog of mouse (<em>SMCY</em>)), uncharacterized LOC729444 (<em>LOC729444</em>), and testis-specific transcript, Y-linked 21 (<em>TTTY21</em>) to be differentially-expressed by sex of the newborn. Our finding that trait-specific RNA gene expression is preserved in unfrozen DBS, demonstrates the technical feasibility of performing molecular genetic profiling using such samples. With millions of DBS potentially available for research, we see new opportunities in using newborn molecular gene expression to better understand molecular pathogenesis of perinatal diseases