A microscopic study of solid/liquid phase change in several members of the paraffin family

Microscopic study of solid/liquid phase change in several members of paraffin famil

No substantial changes in estrogen receptor and estrogen-related receptor orthologue gene transcription in Marisa cornuarietis exposed to estrogenic chemicals

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Estrogen receptor orthologues in molluscs may be targets for endocrine disruptors, although mechanistic evidence is lacking. Molluscs are reported to be highly susceptible to effects caused by very low concentrations of environmental estrogens which, if substantiated, would have a major impact on the risk assessment of many chemicals. The present paper describes the most thorough evaluation to-date of the susceptibility of Marisa cornuarietis ER and ERR gene transcription to modulation by vertebrate estrogens in vivo and in vitro. We investigated the effects of estradiol-17β and 4-tert-Octylphenol exposure on in vivo estrogen receptor (ER) and estrogen-related receptor (ERR) gene transcription in the reproductive and neural tissues of the gastropod snail M. cornuarietis over a 12-week period. There was no significant effect (p > 0.05) of treatment on gene transcription levels between exposed and non-exposed snails. Absence of a direct interaction of estradiol-17β and 4-tert-Octylphenol with mollusc ER and ERR protein was also supported by in vitro studies in transfected HEK-293 cells. Additional in vitro studies with a selection of other potential ligands (including methyl-testosterone, 17α-ethinylestradiol, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, diethylstilbestrol, cyproterone acetate and ICI182780) showed no interaction when tested using this assay. In repeated in vitro tests, however, genistein (with mcER-like) and bisphenol-A (with mcERR) increased reporter gene expression at high concentrations only (>10−6 M for Gen and >10−5 M for BPA, respectively). Like vertebrate estrogen receptors, the mollusc ER protein bound to the consensus vertebrate estrogen-response element (ERE). Together, these data provide no substantial evidence that mcER-like and mcERR activation and transcript levels in tissues are modulated by the vertebrate estrogen estradiol-17β or 4-tert-Octylphenol in vivo, or that other ligands of vertebrate ERs and ERRs (with the possible exception of genistein and bisphenol A, respectively) would do otherwise.BBSR

The influence of ambient cure chemistry and stoichiometry on epoxy coating surfaces

The surface properties of epoxy resin coatings influence their function as substrates for subsequent coats. Variation in ambient cure conditions (temperature and relative humidity, RH), stoichiometry (ratio of epoxy: amine) and delay time between epoxy component mixing and film casting (“induction time”) significantly altered the surface properties of ambient cured epoxy resin coatings (Dow Epoxy Novolac D.E.N. 431, resorcinol diglycidyl ether and 4,4-diaminodicyclohexylmethane). Gravimetric analysis showed that increasing induction time significantly reduced surface layer formation (carbamation) of cured epoxy resin coatings at 80% RH but had no measurable effect at 40% RH and below. RMS surface roughness increased with increasing RH and decreased with increasing induction time and ambient cure temperature, at two stoichiometric extremes. However, the net change in surface area arising from these conditions was not sufficient to significantly alter the equilibrium contact angles or wetting regime. We conclude that the observed significant variation in surface wettability was more likely to depend on variation in surface chemistry than roughness; stoichiometry was the variable which most significantly influenced surface wettability, average void volume and fractional free volume, while cure temperature significantly influenced the extent of cure at both stoichiometries. Off-stoichiometry formulation and elevated ambient cure temperature significantly increased system average void volume while fractional free volume decreased, which may be significant for the barrier properties of the final coating

The splitting of double-component active asteroid P/2016 J1 (PANSTARRS)

We present deep imaging observations, orbital dynamics, and dust tail model analyses of the double-component asteroid P/2016 J1 (J1-A and J1-B). The observations were acquired at the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) from mid March to late July, 2016. A statistical analysis of backward-in-time integrations of the orbits of a large sample of clone objects of P/2016 J1-A and J1-B shows that the minimum separation between them occurred most likely $\sim$2300 days prior to the current perihelion passage, i.e., during the previous orbit near perihelion. This closest approach was probably linked to a fragmentation event of their parent body. Monte Carlo dust tail models show that those two components became active simultaneously $\sim$250 days before the current perihelion, with comparable maximum loss rates of $\sim$0.7 kg s$^{-1}$ and $\sim$0.5 kg s$^{-1}$, and total ejected masses of 8$\times$10$^{6}$ kg and 6$\times$10$^{6}$ kg for fragments J1-A and J1-B, respectively. In consequence, the fragmentation event and the present dust activity are unrelated. The simultaneous activation times of the two components and the fact that the activity lasted 6 to 9 months or longer, strongly indicate ice sublimation as the most likely mechanism involved in the dust emission process.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters, Feb. 17, 201

Protein trafficking through the endosomal system prepares intracellular parasites for a home invasion

Toxoplasma (toxoplasmosis) and Plasmodium (malaria) use unique secretory organelles for migration, cell invasion, manipulation of host cell functions, and cell egress. In particular, the apical secretory micronemes and rhoptries of apicomplexan parasites are essential for successful host infection. New findings reveal that the contents of these organelles, which are transported through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi, also require the parasite endosome-like system to access their respective organelles. In this review, we discuss recent findings that demonstrate that these parasites reduced their endosomal system and modified classical regulators of this pathway for the biogenesis of apical organelles

Development and Assessment of a Diagnostic DNA Oligonucleotide Microarray for Detection and Typing of Meningitis-Associated Bacterial Species.

Meningitis is commonly caused by infection with a variety of bacterial or viral pathogens. Acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) can cause severe disease, which can progress rapidly to a critical life-threatening condition. Rapid diagnosis of ABM is critical, as this is most commonly associated with severe sequelae with associated high mortality and morbidity rates compared to viral meningitis, which is less severe and self-limiting. We have designed a microarray for detection and diagnosis of ABM. This has been validated using randomly amplified DNA targets (RADT), comparing buffers with or without formamide, in glass slide format or on the Alere ArrayTubeTM (Alere Technologies GmbH) microarray platform. Pathogen-specific signals were observed using purified bacterial nucleic acids and to a lesser extent using patient cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) samples, with some technical issues observed using RADT and glass slides. Repurposing the array onto the Alere ArrayTubeTM platform and using a targeted amplification system increased specific and reduced nonspecific hybridization signals using both pathogen nucleic and patient CSF DNA targets, better revealing pathogen-specific signals although sensitivity was still reduced in the latter. This diagnostic microarray is useful as a laboratory diagnostic tool for species and strain designation for ABM, rather than for primary diagnosis

Branched ketone biofuels as blending agents for Jet-A1 aviation kerosene

In this investigation a range of ketone biofuels produced from the alkylation of isoamyl alcohol and isobutanol were examined as potential blending agents with Jet A-1 aviation kerosene. The fuels were synthesized under solvent-free conditions using a Pd/C catalyst with K3PO4, previously reported for the alkylation of acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE) fermentation mixtures. Reasonable yields and selectivity were achieved for branched alkylation products with up to 61% produced from isoamyl alcohol and 64% from isobutanol. The key aviation fuel properties of the mixtures were tested unblended and in 50% and 20% blends with Jet A-1 aviation kerosene. The freezing points of the fuels were all found to be below the required −47 °C irrespective of blend or the temperature of the reaction. The energy density of the unblended fuels ranged between 30.4 and 41.36 MJ/kg depending on the temperature of the reaction and whether remaining alcohols were removed. While this is below the higher heating value (HHV) of the Jet A-1 used (45.69 MJ/kg), the energy densities of the 50% and 20% blends were more suitable with the isoamyl alcohol derived fuels having a maximum HHV of 44.31 MJ/kg at 50% blending and 44.99 MJ/kg at 20% blend with Jet A-1. The fuels derived from isoamyl alcohol produced above 140 °C were found to satisfy the flash point criterion (>38 °C) of the Jet A-1 specification, though the isobutanol derived fuels did not, producing fuels with flash points between 33 and 35 °C. The kinematic viscosities of the fuels were also tested at −20 °C. Unblended only a few of the fuels analyzed met the maximum viscosity requirement at −20 °C of 8 mm2 s–1, though this fuel property was improved substantially on blending with jet fuel. This work demonstrates that ketones produced from isoamyl alcohol through a simple alkylation have the potential to be used as blending agents with Jet A-1