Optical Absorption, Kinetics and Thermodynamic Studies of Pr(III) and Nd(III) Ions with N-Acetyl L-Cysteine in Presence of Ca(II) ions

Interaction of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) with Pr3+ (Pr(NO3)3·6H2O) and Nd3+ (Nd(NO3)3·6H2O) ions are studied in presence of Ca2+ (Ca(NO3)3·4H2O) ion in an aqueous and organic solvent by applying the spectroscopic technique for quantitative probe of 4f-4f transition. The complexation was determined by the variation in the intensities of 4f-4f absorption spectral bands and by applying the change of symmetric properties of electronic-dipole known as Judd-Ofelt parameters Tλ (λ = 2,4,6). On the addition of Ca2+ ion in the binary complexation of praseodymium and neodymium with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) there is an intensification of bands which shows the effect of Ca2+ toward the heterobimetallic complex formation. Other parameters like Slater-Condon (Fk), bonding (b1/2), the Nephelauxetic ratio (β), percentage covalency (δ) are also used to correlate the complexation of metals with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). With the minor change in coordination around Pr3+ and Nd3+ ions, the sensitivity of 4f-4f bands is detected and further used to explain the coordination of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) with Pr3+ and Nd3+ in presence of Ca2+. The variation in oscillator strength (Pobs), energy (Eobs) and dipole intensity parameter help in supporting the heterobimetallic complexation of N-acetyl-L-cysteine. In kinetics investigation, the rate of the complexation of both hypersensitive and pseudo-hypersensitive transition is evaluated at various temperature in DMF solvent. The value of the thermodynamic parameters such as ΔHo, ΔSo and ΔGo and activation energy (Ea) also evaluated.

The Effect of Biochar on the Properties of Alkali-Activated Slag Pastes

This paper examines the influence of biochar on the properties of alkali-activated slag pastes using two activator solutions, namely NaOH and Na2CO3. The biochar demonstrated different absorption kinetics in the mixture of slag and the two activator solutions. The pastes with biochar showed a delay in the heat flow peak, compared to the pastes without biochar, but the cumulative heat release in these pastes at later hours was increased, compared to the pastes without biochar. It was found that the use of biochar reduced autogenous shrinkage in the pastes and the reduction in autogenous shrinkage was more pronounced in the alkali-activated slag with NaOH, compared to Na2CO3. The void structure of the pastes was investigated using x-ray micro-computed tomography. It was found that refined pore structure due to reduced effective solution/slag in the pastes with biochar was able to compensate for the decreasing effect of biochar voids on compressive strength. The electrical resistivity was shown to be lower in the pastes with biochar.

The influence of acetylsalicylic acid and alcohol on absorption kinetics of hen ́s egg white in a human passive cutaneous anaphylaxis model

Background: Despite the well-known fact that acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) can induce anaphylaxis in patients susceptible to wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis, few studies have sought to investigate the effects of cofactors on type-1 food allergy and none with ASA and hen’s egg and hen’s egg and alcohol combined. Methods and results: We applied the experimental model of ‘passive cutaneous anaphylaxis’ in humans to study whether the absorption kinetics of egg white is altered while being treated with ASA or under the influence of alcohol. Donor sera from four egg allergic patients with specific immunoglobulin E (s-IgE) to ovalbumin (0.1–8.87–19.5–170 kUA/L) were injected intracutaneously into the forearm of 12 healthy volunteers who were then challenged separately to: 1) egg white 2) egg white + ASA and 3) egg white + alcohol. ‘Time to wheal’ and ‘wheal size’ were compared among the three experiments. We saw that ‘time to wheal’ with both ASA (P = 0.001) and alcohol (P = 0.019) added as cofactor significantly decreased compared with baseline. Conclusion: In this passive cutaneous anaphylaxis model, ASA and alcohol affected both reaction time and size of reactions elicited after egg ingestion. This suggests that patients with egg allergy could have faster and more severe reactions during ASA treatment or under alcohol influence.

The Competitive Absorption by the Gut Microbiome Suggests the First-Order Absorption Kinetics of Caffeine

In the literature archive, the intestinal microbiome is now considered as a discrete organ system. Despite living symbiotically with the human body, the gut microbiome is represented as potential drug targets because of its ability to modify the pharmacokinetics of orally administered drugs. Structural biology analysis indicates the existence of homology between transport proteins of microbial cells and membranes of enterocytes. It is speculated that structural similarity in the protein transporters may provoke an unwanted phenomenon of drug uptake by the gut microbiome present in the small intestine of the host. Considering this hypothesis, we analyzed the absorbance of orally administered caffeine by the gut microbiota in in vivo albino rat model through the RP-HPLC-UV approach. Microbiome absorbed the caffeine maximally at 2 hours and minimally at 5 hours post-drug administration following first-order absorption kinetics in a nonlinear way. Drug absorbance of microbial pellet and percent dose recovery was found significantly higher ( P ≤ .05) at 2 hours post-administration as compared to all other groups. As speculated, our findings advocated the phenomenon that the gut microbiome influences the absorption of caffeine molecules. Members of the gut microbiome exhibited grouped behavior following first-order absorption kinetics in a nonlinear pattern.

Freeze-Drying versus Heat-Drying: Effect on Protein-Based Superabsorbent Material

Porcine plasma protein is a by-product of the meat industry, which has already been applied in the manufacture of superabsorbent materials. The effects of plasticizer content (0%, 25%, 50%), together with those of the drying method (freeze-drying, thermal drying at 50 °C), during the processing of superabsorbent porcine plasma matrices were studied in this manuscript. Although the presence of glycerol accelerated the water absorption kinetics, the highest water absorption (~550%) was achieved by samples not containing any plasticizer. Viscoelasticity decreased at higher glycerol contents and especially after water absorption. When swollen samples were dried through freeze-drying, porous structures with a sponge-like appearance were obtained. Oppositely, thermally dried samples suffered an evident shrinkage that reduced porosity, displaying a more uniform surface. The effect of the drying method was observed since only freeze-dried samples can be rehydrated, displaying a superabsorbent ability (absorption higher than 1000%), which could be used in several applications (food, agriculture, personal care).