Effects of Repeated Central Administration of Endothelin Type A Receptor Antagonist on the Development of Neuropathic Pain in Rats

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Application of a water stable zinc(II) glutamate metal organic framework for photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes

A water stable metal-organic framework (MOF) having structural formula {[Zn(H2O)(L)]∙xsolvent}n (L = glutamate) (1), was prepared in aqueous medium by simple mixing the Zn(II) salt and glutamate ligand at room temperature. The single crystal X-ray diffraction study indicates that 1 crystallizes in an orthorhombic system with a space group of P212121 in which the Zn(II) center adopts pseudo-octahedral geometry. The bridging interactions through carboxylate groups in 1 generates a 2D structure in 1 comprising of the microporous channels. The UV/Vis diffuse-reflection spectroscopy for 1 had been performed which indicated that MOF possess semiconducting nature with a band gap of 3.23 eV and therefore may be a potential candidate as photocatalyst. The photocatalytic behavior of 1 against photo-degratdation of organic dyes has been investigated. The possible photocatalytic activity of 1 against organic dyes have been addressed using density of states (DOS) calculations.               KEY WORDS: Glutamate, MOF, DOS, Photocatalysis Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(1), 43-50DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i1.

Tsunamigenic Potential of the Baiyun Slide Complex in the South China Sea

The Baiyun slide complex contains geological evidence for some of the largest landslide ever discovered in the continental slopes of the South China Sea. High-resolution seismic data suggest that a variety of landslides with varied scales have occurred repeatedly in this area. The largest landslide reconstructed from bathymetric and seismic data has an estimated spatial coverage of ~5,500 km2 and a conservative volume of ~1,035 km3. Here, using geomorphological and geotechnical data, we construct a series of probable landslide scenarios and assess their tsunamigenic capacity. By treating the slides as deformable mudflows, we simulate the dynamics of landslide movements. The simulated landslide motions match the geophysical observations interpreted in previous studies. Particularly, we are able to reproduce the spatial distribution of observed runout, including the distance, shape, and deposit thickness, for the most credible slide scenario. We investigate tsunami impacts generated by different slide scenarios and highlight the importance of initial water depth, sliding direction, and nearshore bathymetry. The worst-case scenario is capable of producing basin-wide tsunami, with maximum wave amplitudes reaching ~5 m near Hong Kong and Macau, 1–3 m in western Philippines, and at least 1 m along central Vietnam, southeast Hainan, and southern Taiwan. The most noticeable phenomenon we observed is that the southern Chinese coast is the hardest-hit region in all the simulated scenarios regardless of the diverse slide features. We conclude that the persistence of high tsunami impact is caused by the unique bathymetric feature of the wide continental shelf in front of southern China

Interface alloying and magnetic properties of Fe/Rh multilayers

Rh(20 Å)/57Fe(tFe) multilayers with Fe thicknesses tFe of 2, 5, 10, and 15 Å prepared by alternate evaporation in UHV have been investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopy, and SQUID magnetometry. First- and second-order superstructure Bragg peaks (but no higher-order peaks) in small-angle XRD patterns suggest some compositional modulation. Mössbauer spectra taken at 4.2 K are characterized by a distribution P(Bhf) of hyperfine fields Bhf. Peaks observed in the P(Bhf) curves near 17 and 35 T are assigned to an fcc-RhFe interface alloy (~7–24 at. % Fe) with spin-glasslike properties and to a disordered ferromagnetic bcc-FeRh alloy (~96 at. % Fe), respectively. The magnetic transition temperature of the fcc alloy was found to be 23 and 45 K for tFe=2 and 5 Å, respectively, and Bhf follows a T3/2 law. For tFe=2 Å, spin-glasslike behavior was observed by magnetometry. Journal of Applied Physics is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics

Total urinary follicle stimulating hormone as a biomarker for detection of early pregnancy and periimplantation spontaneous abortion.

Total concentrations of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were evaluated in daily urine samples from conceptive and nonconceptive menstrual cycles by measurement of the FSH beta subunit following treatment of the samples to dissociate the FSH heterodimer. Samples were self-collected by normal subjects during cycles in which daily blood samples also were obtained. Daily blood and urine specimens were collected prospectively from 10 subject in conceptive cycles, which led to normal pregnancies, and from 10 subjects with bilateral tubal ligations to provide control samples form nonconceptive cycles. Mean serum and urinary FSH concentration profiles wer parallel in both groups following ovulation and during he first 9 days of the luteal phase. Mean values for both serum and urinary FSH rose significantly above the postovulatory baseline by 10-12 days following the midcycle luteinizing hormone (LH) peak in nonconceptive cycles, but did not rise at any time following ovulation during conceptive cycles. Following regression analysis of the changing FSH concentration between days 9-14 post-LH surge in conceptive cycles, a slope of </= 0.02 ng FHS/mg creatinine/day was selected as a cutoff point to identify conceptive cycles. There was a high concordance between the day of LH peak in serum and the day of FSH peak in urine. Therefore, in applying the algorithm, the day of FSH peak in urine was used to determine the days for which the FSH slope would be calculated, i.e., days 9-14 post-FSH peak in urine. The sensitivity and specificity of the change in urinary FSH concentrations to detect pregnancy in a different set of 55 cycles were found to 88.9% and 89.3%, respectively. All six cases of early fetal loss in the sample set were correctly identified. These results suggest that urinary FSH can be used as an additional biomarker for the verification of early pregnancy in prospective epidemiological studies in which early fetal loss is a suspected outcome